Tell Me What You See in Me
by Adven277
Summary: She's a farmer, he's a blacksmith. She's into romance novels, he's into action. The only thing they have in common is their temper. ClaireXGray, but includes other pairings, as well.
1. A New Home

Author's note: My first Harvest Moon story. Tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon.

* * *

"_I'm sorry, but I can't do this anymore." He told her, avoiding her eyes._

"_What?"_

"_I meant… I meant that I can't do this anymore! I want to end this!"_

_Her heart dropped to her stomach and shattered, her world had shrunk, and everything around her became a dull shade of gray. She stared at him, or more like, through him, since she couldn't actually focus on anything right now. Her jaw dropped open._

_I can't believe this is happening._

"_But… but w-why?" She asked. Her voice was trembling._

"_I think it's time we stopped pretending."_

_What the hell was he blabbering about? "What?" She said for the second time._

"_We all know that we're both cheating on each other. You with that guy who worked at the fast food, and me with Lizzy."_

_Fits of shocked coughs squirmed their way out of her throat. "That guy at the food chain… You actually thought I was cheating?"_

_He looked at her, confused. "You weren't?"_

"_I was ordering takeout, asshole."_

_Awkward silence crept between the two. He nervously cleared his throat like he had a bubonic plague coming. She folded her arms. "And you…" She said through gritted teeth._

"_You were cheating on me? With my sister? For how long?"_

"_Actually, I was cheating on her," He said. "With you."_

_He should have expected what was coming after, she couldn't help it. Different emotions were invading her mind and she couldn't resist punching him into the next life. He deserved it, after all. After the damage, she walked away._

_The streets looked so dark and uninviting all of a sudden. Some birthday this turned out to be, she muttered. Cold air sliced through her skin which made her shiver and hug herself. She looked pathetic, actually, wandering the streets aimlessly like a freaking mendicant, looking utterly dejected and humiliated. _

_Forget men, she decided. I am going to live my life an awesome, diehard single, and no one's going to stop me._

Her blue eyes gazed at the field of water and smelled the salty scent of the ocean air. Her blonde hair happily danced with the wind, her dark blue overalls soaking up the refreshing fragrance. The ship that Claire was on was almost arriving at Mineral Town, a small place that held its own world. It was isolated—just the way she had liked it.

She could see the little backwater town from the deck. No words could describe how Claire felt right now. She was going to live on a farm—a fresh, cozy and quiet farm full of animals and plants. She had finally pried herself loose from the dull dreary walls of her boring apartment back at the city. Excitement was probably the best word that would describe her feeling. Claire was going to live as a country bumpkin, tending to cute cows and chickens, planting crops and gazing at the luscious fields of the midsummer sun. She couldn't wait to get off this _stinkin' _ship, as she called it, and scoot on over to the paradise she was going to call her 'Sapphire Farm.' She got off at the pier, and onto the beach.

"Well then," A buff, brown-haired man who looked like he was in his mid-forties said to Claire. "I suppose I should give you directions to your would-be farm?"

"I'd appreciate it." She told him in reply, eager to see the bundle of happiness waiting for her.

She could almost see the animals, crops and fields. Her feet treaded to the path the man had told her to go, she even worked up a sweat in all her excitement.

No words could also describe the look of dismay on Claire's face when she saw what had waited for her. Her luggage had somehow escaped her grasp, and fell hard to the ground.

The luscious fields she had imagined were no more than dark brown sand filled with weeds, twigs and rocks, boulders, even. There were no signs of animals, not even human life. It seemed unlikely that crops were possible to grow healthily in the state the soil was in. Claire stood there, speechless, and with her mouth hanging open as she continued to be dumbfounded by the surprising, in a bad way, sight.

"You must be the lady who bought the farm."

She turned around to see a short and stout man, who was all dressed in red with a silly looking hat. He had this mustache that irritated her, but at this point, _anything_ could irritate her right now. She wanted to kick the man's behind into the next world, and she would have done it, if not for the little white angel that sat on her right shoulder and told her it was bad to kick people that you've just met.

"What the hell… is _this_?" She gestured to the farm, if one could call it that.

The man was clearly uncomfortable, he squirmed. "I'm Thomas, the mayor of this town. I placed that ad years ago when the previous owner died. Apparently, no one was interested in buying a farm, but every now and then, some people, like you have, would call about it and would arrive with a disappointed look on their faces." He tilted his head up to look at her. "Like the one you have now."

"Are you kidding me?" She said through gritted teeth. "I quit my job for this, thinking that it would be the paradise I was looking for. I even told my landlord that his place was crap, and told him I thanked God I never had to spend a day in that rusty apartment again!" She had the sudden urge to look for a hammer and smack him with it.

"I'm sorry…" was all the mayor could say.

They stood there in awkward silence when Thomas' head perked up. It looked like he had an idea.

"I know! Why don't _you_ run the farm instead? You know, raise it to its former glory. It has a nice house right over there." He pointed to the small cabin that stood on the far corner of the farm. Claire thought that it was kind of cute.

"You don't have a place to stay, don't you? And if you work hard, this old run down farm could be thriving with crops in due time."

The blonde eyed the stout man carefully, it was almost a glare. Claire wondered if this midget had a few screws loose. _I mean, come on! Me? Run a farm? By myself? _That was the most absurd idea she'd ever heard.

"It's better than nothing."

_That_ was a good point, she thought. She couldn't go back to the city now, even if she wanted to. She had no place to stay, and no other source of income. Going back to her family was out of the question, because her she herself ran away from home, and had too much pride to return. The young farmer-to-be couldn't believe she was actually considering this idea. She came to Mineral Town to live a cozy life at the farm, not working her butt off in 'restoring it to its darn former glory.' But this was all she had, and she was a hard worker, anyway, so it would probably work out, one way or another.

Her eyes scanned the farm. _Weeds, rocks, twigs, rocks, weeds, rocks, weeds, weeds._

"Fine," She huffed. "I'll do it."

The mayor practically jumped for joy. "You'll definitely love it here. The people are nice, and the days here are routine… which means no surprises."

_Just the way she liked it_, Claire sighed sadly.

"If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask me, miss… uh-"

"Claire."

"Miss Claire. Right."

Thomas explained a few things before he left. Like where the animals could be held, the stable, the pond. He even gave Claire a map of Mineral Town. When she was left alone with her thoughts, she let go of a heavy sigh.

"Great. I'm a city girl who knows absolutely nothing about farms, yet has to revive one from scratch."

Just when she was about done complaining, she heard a little 'yip' coming from below her. Her blue eyes fell down to her feet and found a little brown puppy tugging away at her jeans.

"Well, you're a cute little fella, aren't you?"

The puppy barked happily.

"You need a name…" She told him. "How about…Flea?"

The animal whelped. Claire guessed it didn't like the name.

"Well, that's what I'm calling you, anyway."

She picked up her bags and entered her new home.

* * *

I'm sorry if this was kind of short... and well, no Claire and Gray yet.


	2. This Guy Named Gray

Claire woke up with a terrible bed head. Her blonde hair was all over the place. She almost swore that the mirror screamed when she checked her face in it that morning. Her pitiful attempt to brush her teeth and clean herself up wasn't made easy by Flea, as he ran around, yipping energetically, knocking a couple of books in the process, she decided that it would be best to start the day cheerfully, and strode confidently outside her little cabin. Her smile faded slowly as she met with the hideous excuse for a farm.

"Well, a good morning to you, too." She greeted it, with a hint of bitterness.

A groan escaped her breath. _How was she supposed to do this?_ Claire wondered if there was some sort of manual for farming, and thought that she would sell her soul for one, if it actually existed. Then her head snapped back. She remembered the town had a library, and that she would start from there. She began cutting through her farm, careful not to trip on the rocks that seemed to spread themselves just so they could trip her. Claire felt somewhat relieved that she had a plan now, but her bubble of ecstasy was interrupted by the man whom she had met yesterday, the one who gave her the directions to her _would-be _farm.

"Hello there." He gave her a gruff smile, which she reluctantly returned.

"Hi, can I help you?"

The man shook his head. "No, I came here to tell you that I'll be dropping by later to claim your shipments."

"I'm sorry, my… _what?_"

"Oh, my apologies." He held out his hand. "My name is Zack, by the way."

Claire took his hand and shook it, and told him her name.

"I live at the beach, where I wait for shipments from the city, and vice versa. Basically, I collect stuff you collect and place in your shipment bin, and I pay you depending on the items you find."

Zack pointed to the bin lying next to her field. "There are also bins in the chicken coop and the barn. I'll drop by every day at five pm."

"Oh. Okay." She told him. Meh, at least she didn't have to worry about how to get some money.

He was just about to leave when he turned around and said, "Oh, and I won't come by on holidays!" He grinned.

With that, Claire laughed, to her surprise. Feeling pretty good about herself, she checked the map and marched confidently towards the town's library up north, passing a street going to the right on the way. _Starting the day off cheerfully: check. Next on the list is… ending the day cheerfully._

The library was, of course, quiet, but not because it was a library and people respected its rules for keeping their mouths shut. It was quiet because there was no one to hang around it. _Do people not know how to read in this place?_ She shook her head and glanced around.

"May I help you?" A frail, yet smart looking girl said behind the counter. She had dark brown hair that fell down to her waist, and she had a pair of square glasses. Basically, she wore the cute, smart girl look—and she wore it well.

"I, uh… came to read books about… farming?" Claire told her lamely, the librarian revealed a small smile and fixed her glasses.

"You must be the new farmer in town… I'm Mary, pleased to meet you."

The blond smiled. "Claire. Pleasure."

"People rarely read in this town, it's kind of sad, really." She motioned for Claire to follow her. "You'll find books about farming over here."

Claire nodded and gave her thanks. She picked a book and opened it, then let herself drift away into its world. It was pretty helpful. She learned which seeds grow in which seasons, which items are shippable and where they could be found, she even found a book about the secrets of Mineral Town.

"That one is a book my father, Basil, wrote." said Mary, who was scribbling something at her desk. "He loves writing about plants and legends."

Claire smiled. "I read about the plants, they were very helpful."

The librarian's brown eyes widened largely at her comment at the same time she abruptly stood up. "Really? You've read them? _Seriously?_" She exclaimed happily, her hands clasped together to show her amusement.

"I think you're over exaggerating. These books are awesome." Claire honestly thought that. She loved reading, and found it hard to believe that people hardly came to this wonderful place. _Oh well, their loss._

"Unfortunately, only you and one other person think that way." Mary sighed.

Claire pondered on the 'other person' comment, but didn't read too much into it. She waved her thanks and goodbyes to Mary before she left.

She walked around town for a while, admiring the cobblestones beneath her feet. She decided that she had better start collecting those shipping items soon, so she wandered back to the path leading to her farm. She noticed the path that she had ignored earlier, and decided that it wouldn't hurt to check what was over there, so she trudged along the pathway, going left.

Claire was contentedly walking when she felt something peck at her feet. Wait, what? Something was _pecking_ at her _feet?_ She looked below and found a bundle of white feathers gnawing away at her bases. She picked it up and stared at it for a while.

"What's a cute little chicken like you doing on the streets?" She asked the clucking animal. She felt stupid for waiting for an answer, and shook her head.

"You there! Hold it right there!" A guy, about her age, with orange hair that hung below his jaw and round glasses came running towards Claire. He wore a purple turtleneck and an apron below. _Who the hell wears purple? And a turtleneck, nonetheless._

"That's my chicken!" He gasped, catching his breath. "Give it back."

"I wasn't going to steal it or anything." Claire protested.

"That's not what I- Oh, just hand it over." The red head told her. His brows came together in a frown. He had his hands resting on his knees while gasping for air. Claire handed him the chicken.

"Thanks. I'm Rick. I work at the Poultry farm over there, owned by my family." He said, smiling now. He pointed to the farm behind him.

"My stupid sister forgot to close the hens' cages before she left, and… well, they escaped. You saved my life."

She grinned. "No big deal."

The carrot top nodded and shook her hand. "You must be the new farmer. If you ever need help with chickens, just let me know." He gave her a smile and walked back to their farm.

This town wasn't as bad as Claire thought it to be. Thomas was right—the people here _are_ nice. She might be able to work things out after all. She turned and something caught her eye. She hadn't noticed the little shop behind her the whole time. A sign was nailed to the door and it read: 'Blacksmith. Open every day except Thursdays from nine to five.'

"A blacksmith..." She said in awe, and before she knew it, she had opened the door and went inside.

"What do you mean it's not good enough?" A young man's voice screamed in protest. He was answered by an older man. _I guess not everybody's nice in this town. I spoke too soon._

"I mean, what I mean. You simply lack the skills in forging. It is not good enough." The gruff old man's voice explained. They didn't seem to notice that Claire had been standing near the counter, dumbfounded.

"It's just a tiny little crack! You can barely see it!" Claire could now see that the younger voice came from a boy wearing a blue baseball cap with the letters 'UMA' printed on it. He had on a light brown jacket and pants that seemed a bit too big for his slim figure.

"The tiniest cracks in forged items may very well be the starting point to their own destruction! Now I suggest you stop complaining like the baby you are and begin working on that _tiny little crack_." The old man imitated the younger one's words, and it only made him even more furious than before.

"That's it," He stomped towards the elder one, not noticing that he had shoved Claire rather roughly to the wall. "You can't keep bringing me down like this! I refuse to be treated like this!"

"Gray! You will not hurt our custome-"

He had already left. The old man stared at Claire, who was still shocked by the sudden push that rude guy had given her. His gray eyes, creased around its corners examined her from head to toe, and gave her a rough nod.

"I'm terribly sorry you caught us like that. My grandson is kind of ill-tempered, you see."

She frowned. "I can see that." She patted her shoulder. _Ill-tempered? More like a walking bomb ready to explode! And you weren't exactly mister calm and collected, either._ "I just wanted to check out this place, being new and all." She said in an annoyed tone.

"Ah, then you are the new farmer?" How many times had Claire heard this question today? _Why is it that people here already know who I am? Yes, I am the new farmer… and I. Am. Pissed._ The old man grunted."My name is Saibara."

"Yeah. I'm Claire." She said, glancing around, trying to hide her emotions.

"This is a place for forging tools and jewelry. You can have us upgrade your tools if you bring some ores."

"Upgrade? What for?"

He looked at her like she was the dumbest creature on the planet or something. _Well sorry for being ignorant. _"Improving your tools mean that they are easier to use, and becomes more durable each time you upgrade it. So treat yours like you would a lover, young lady. I do not appreciate a farmer that does not take care of her own tools."

"Uh… okay." Her slender fingers tangled with her blonde hair as she scratched it awkwardly.

"Is that any way to talk to your elders?" He snapped. His veins seemed to pop out everywhere. The loud, demanding tone of his voice scared Claire out of her wits.

"No sir, Saibara, sir." She told him, even gave him a salute, and made a break for it.

Without waiting for a response, she ran outside the blacksmith's, gasping for breath. _What was that all about?_ She thought. That might have been the scariest thing she had ever seen. _Talk about senile._ Speaking of senile, Claire's thoughts wandered to that young boy, and how he pushed her away like she was some sort of… insignificant being in this world. She decided that she was going to hate this person. This guy named Gray.


	3. The Townspeople

A/N: Here we go. Oh yeah. This is my first try at a long story, so... :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon.

_

* * *

Another day_, Claire thought, another morning in Mineral Town and another morning of preparing for an exhausting farm life. Just yesterday, she discovered a toolbox beside her bed that held a hammer, sickle, hoe and a watering can. She thought that they were probably possessed by the man who originally owned the farm, and decided to use them. Not like she had any idea how to. She placed the tools in her rucksack.

"I guess I should probably collect the shipping." Claire told herself, and scampered to the back exit of the farm, and through the forest.

She liked the smell of the spring wind carrying the scent of the leaves. The scenery wasn't bad at all, it made her feel fresh and serene. She wasn't going to miss the city's polluted air, no sir-ee. She was going to enjoy nature, in all of its glory. After walking for a good five minutes, she came across a sign that pointed to a hot spring. Curious, she climbed the steps and discovered the spring and a small waterfall that formed a lake. She found a couple of herbs along the way, and settled for staying for a few minutes. When something caught her eye, she turned around and found a cave just behind the waterfall.

"I wonder what's in there…" She asked herself and proceeded to enter.

The cave was dark, the only source of light coming from the entrance. _I should've brought a flashlight._ She waved her arms to get a feel of the area, but found herself tripping over something hard instead and let go of an _oomph._

"Who's there?" a boy's voice echoed through the cave. He sounded alarmed.

"It's just me, the new farm girl, Claire." She yelled, not sure where to aim her voice. "I just wanted to see what's in here."

She found a small speck of light walking towards her, illuminating some parts of the area. Several rocks revealed themselves all over the place. _Oh, so that's what I tripped on._

"There's nothing to see," the boy explained, "just the mines."

_Thank you for the newsflash, captain obvious._ "Like I said: I just wanted to see what's inside."

"Well, you've seen them now. You should just leave."

Claire wasn't annoyed now, she was furious. Was this guy telling her what to do? It was one thing if he owned the mines or something, but he doesn't. "I don't take advice from strangers."

The boy scoffed, which didn't help the rising anger forming inside the blonde. "Trust me; this place is way too rough for a city girl like you." He held her lamp higher so it leveled with their faces. Claire could see who the guy was now, and she didn't like it.

"Oh. It's you." She muttered.

"You know me?" He pulled his blue baseball cap with the letters U-M-A printed on it down to hide his face.

"This morning? We had that _lovely_ greeting, I was told that giving people a hard shove was a way to say hello in these parts."

He looked away from her. "Uh… yeah. My bad." _Anti-social much?_ Awkward silence lingered over the cave. Claire wondered why he was being inept all of a sudden, he was so annoying just seconds ago.

"Yeah, well. Whatever. I'm a busy woman, so I don't have time for this. See you around, but hopefully not." Gray didn't say anything, and resumed to his mining. She flexed to leave the cave.

_What was his problem anyway? One minute he's all you're-a-city-girl-so-don't-come-near-me, and the next he's all mister-at-a-loss-for-words._

Claire exited the cave and continued wandering along the forest. There were signs all over, so no one could get lost easily. She picked up some items she thought would be shippable, and when she determined that they were enough, scurried back to her farm.

She placed the items in the shipping bin and thought of what to do next. She didn't have any crops, so she thought it best to purchase some seeds from the supermarket. Claire entered her house to clean up a bit, and left immediately.

The bells chimed when she opened the door. She found different packs of seeds at the center of the room, cooking ingredients and other typical market stuff were displayed as well. She scanned the whole room and found two men, one behind the counter and one outside it.

"Thanks. Put it on my tab." The older looking one said.

"What? B-but I…" The man behind the counter sighed. "Okay…"

The other man smiled and headed towards the exit, and told Claire politely to move aside. She wouldn't budge.

"You should pay, you know." She told him.

He laughed. She didn't like his laugh, or maybe she was just in a bad mood today. "It's fine, it's fine." He protested, but still the blonde wouldn't budge. Just then a girl around Claire's age with golden brown hair emerged from another room and stomped angrily over to the man.

"Duke! I thought I told you that we're not keeping tabs anymore?" The girl scolded him, with arms folded. The bigger, older man seemed to cower at the young girl's presence.

"Alright, alright. I'm no match for you, Karen." He gave the girl some money and left the supermarket.

The girl turned to Claire. "Thanks for your help. My dad's such a pushover, so forgive him."

"It's not a big deal, I just came to buy some seeds."

"Oh, then you must be-"

"The new farmer, I get it."

The girl introduced herself as Karen, and the man behind the counter was her father, Jeff. She told Claire that her mother Sasha was out right now and offered her a pack of seeds as thanks, on the house. Claire blatantly refused, but the young girl insisted, ignoring her father's protests, so she took the pack, gave her thanks and farewells, and then left the supermarket.

She continued to walk over the cobblestones, and found a path to the right, and straight ahead. _I might as well meet all of the townspeople now._ She took the path straight ahead, and found a clinic.

Inside, the place smelled like medicine, herbs and infection.

"Hello, what can I do for you? Are you feeling sick?" A girl, who looked like a nurse, with short, light brown hair, gently asked her. Claire mentally compared her to a flower, delicate and fragile, yet soothing to the soul. She had an air of calmness around her that the blonde wished _she_ had.

She shook her head. "I'm fine, just wanted to introduce myself."

"Oh yes," The nurse smiled."You are the new one, correct? The one on the farm?"

She nodded. "I'm Claire."

"My name is Elli." She said. "The doctor is over there." She pointed to a small office, and the blonde trudged towards it.

She found a man in a white lab coat, with hair black as coal; he was wearing a stethoscope and a serious look on his face. Faint scratches of pen on paper echoed through the room.

"Hello, did you come for a checkup?" The doctor asked without looking up. He was scribbling something in his notepad.

"Uh… no. I just came to introduce myself, I'm the new owner of the farm."

"Ah, yes, Claire, right? I heard you talking to my nurse." He finally jerked his head up to look at her. Claire could finally see his face that revealed black eyes and hair, and a look that was so serious Claire thought he'd be a master of poker. "I'm Doctor Trent."

They shook hands and did small talk for a few minutes, and then Claire opted to leave. Her footsteps wavered after hearing his voice.

"Wait."

She hesitated, and turned to face the dark haired man. "Yes?"

"Would you like to try some medicine?"

"Excuse me?"

Trent pulled something from his drawer, it was a small bottle of… God knows what.

"I've been experimenting on some medicine, and I haven't been able to test it out with people. Would you like to try? It's supposed to help you relax."

"You want to feed me some unknown goo that's never been tried out with people… and you have no idea what side effects it could do to me?" Claire asked with narrowed eyes. _Is he insane? Maybe I should stay away from this guy._

"It's completely safe." He assured her, but that didn't lift her suspicions.

"How do _you_ know?"

"I just do."

That's it. He must be a quack, Claire thought. No doctor in his right mind would think of testing out his experimental medicine with possible unknown side effects on a person, unless, of course, he had a few screws loose. She stared at the bottle he held in his hands, then her eyes wandered to the doctor's face, which was so filled with hope, and swallowed.

"Um…"

She reached for the bottle. _I can't believe I'm doing this._ She held the small bottle, and stared at it, hoping it would magically vanish from her hands. She closed her eyes and, in one fell swoop, downed the contents of the junk in a matter of seconds. Claire was a sucker for puppy dog eyes.

"Excellent! You were the first one to actually try my medicine! The other townspeople were too afraid."

Claire coughed. "I wonder why…" She told him, with a hint of sarcasm in her annoyed voice, but the doctor didn't seem to notice. He was too busy celebrating the fact that someone had just taken his horrendously tasting poison—err, medicine.

Feeling lightheaded, she sat down. "Are you okay?" The doctor asked. She glared at him.

"What do _you_ think?"

"It might taste horrible, but you'll feel the effects soon." He told her happily.

"If you mean nausea and indigestion, I'm feelin' it."

The doctor ignored her comment and scribbled another thing in his notepad. Claire continued to glare at him, feeling sick. She wanted to vomit the stuff up, but she'll wait until she gets home. They waved their goodbyes and Claire left his office, nodding at an apologetic looking Elli, and exited the clinic with extreme haste.

"That was a nightmare. I'm never going in there of my own will again." She ordered herself. She continued on the straight path and stopped in front of a church.

_Should I go in?_ She thought. _Something weird will probably happen in there._ Claire summoned up all of her courage and opened the door. Up the aisle stood a blonde, chubby looking pastor, who wore a black church gown. He greeted her with a smile.

"Hello, my name is Carter. Might you be the new owner of the farm?"

He seemed pretty nice. Priests are nice, right? "Yeah. I'm Claire."

"It's very nice to meet you, Claire. To what do I owe this honor?"

"Just looking around." She said while flailing her arms around. "Trying to meet the townspeople."

"Then you have perfect timing." He gestured for Claire to move closer to him, and she complied. "You see that boy over there?"

She turned and saw a guy sitting on the front row of the chairs, fidgeting shyly. He had long brown hair, same as his eyes, and tied it into a low pony tail.

"He's new to this town, like you, and he's very shy. So could you maybe try to be friends with him? Being friends with someone in the same position as him might do him good."

"I'll… try, I guess."

The pastor's smile reached his ears. "Wonderful! Now, scoot on over to him."

She reluctantly approached the guy, rehearsing what she was going to say, and stopped when she was standing right in front of him.

Claire still hadn't found the words, so she stood there, without saying anything. She looked kind of ridiculous, really. _What am I supposed to say? Hello, you looked kind of awkward and lonely there, so I figured that since I'm such a nice person, I'd talk to you. Let's be friends!_ She shook her head, and was surprised to find the boy staring at her, confused.

"C-can I help you?" His voice was low and shy; she had to lean closer to hear him.

"Is there something on my face?" He asked, he looked like he was in a tight spot. The auburn haired mystery tried his hardest to avoid her eyes.

She sighed. "It's not like I'm going to bite or anything." Claire told him, he winced at her voice. _Another weirdo_, she thought, but then again, she wasn't miss perfect, either.

"Um… right."

She didn't know what to say to that, so they stayed there, not saying anything.

"So, uh… I just moved here, I own that old run down farm at the end of town. My name's Claire, you?"

"Cliff."

Whoa. A fine conversationalist. _How fun._

"So, Cliff, tell me about yourself." He squirmed, seeming uncomfortable. He sat there looking for words while fidgeting and trying to discreetly avoid eye contact.

"I… I love quiet places."

"Really? Well so do I," She smiled. "Have you gone to the library? It's _real_ quiet in there. Sure, it's quiet because nobody ever goes there, but who cares?" He likes quiet—the library's quiet. _Sure, sure. I may be ranting but who cares? When I rant, I talk, and when I talk,_ _I make a conversation, and Carter will be satisfied_. _Everybody's happy._ _Whoopee. How many times did I say 'quiet' again?_

He shook his head. _Great, I've run out of ideas… what do I say now?_

"So, uh… What do you do for a living?"

He paused. "Nothing."

_Ugh_. Is it really hard to open your mouth and use your vocal chords? Claire had tried it, but she didn't find it difficult or anything. Maybe Cliff was vocally challenged or something.

"You're a bum?" It was too late by the time she realized that she shouldn't have said that, and covered her mouth._ Real smooth, Claire._ "Sorry."

He shook his head. "It's fine," He said. "I… I'd like to be alone now."

She took that hint, and her eyes met Carter's, she shook her head and he nodded while sighing, then said their goodbyes.

Claire decided to go home and start planting her seeds. She pulled the pack from her rucksack and read the label. It read: cucumber. By the time she had reached her farm, it was four thirty. She stared at her field; it was still full of weeds, twigs and rocks. Claire thought that she would have to remove them first and leave a clean area before she could grow anything decent on her farm. _Best to start now_, she thought.

For half an hour, she had done nothing but cut out weeds using her sickle. She didn't notice that Zack was at the entrance of her farm. _Was it five already?_

"I see you've been gathering herbs at the forest." He told her, peeking inside the bin. Claire leaned on her sickle, and watched as the gruff man shook his head flatly.

"That's the best I can do."

"Have you tried mining? There are plenty of ores there, they can be shipped, you know. Good stuff on the mountains, too."

The mines, she didn't want to go there if there was a risk of seeing a certain baseball cap wearing guy.

"There are gold ores in the deeper parts of the mines. They sell pretty well." _That did it._

"Okay. You've convinced me."

She needed money, so she'd do almost all the things needed to get some. Before going to bed, she had written a routine to follow every day. Wake up at six, gather stuff on the forest and mountain, dig some ores in the mine, get something to eat then go back home to remove those stupid weeds.

"Okay, Claire. You can do this."

* * *

I actually thought Doctor was weird here.


	4. A Trip to the Library

**A/N:** Oh cool, chapter 4 is out! Thanks for the reviews, by the way! To be honest, I never really expected that people could actually like this junk, so they made my day. Really, though, thanks. I'll try to update as fast as I can. 3

** StellaAllets - **Thank you! I'm glad you liked the story **and** doctor, I thought I made him too creepy or something. That's right, Gray is really a jerk in the first parts of the story, but that'll change, don't worry. :D  
**Tinkies** - I'll try to meet your expectations! I promise more Claire and Gray scenes, this is a _Graire_ story, after all. *evil grin* Aw, and stop making me blush with your comments. :D Thank you so much for the review!  
**Massu Chan **- Thank you so much! I _will _continue this, of course, and you can expect a lot of Claire and Gray scenes in the future. I give you my word.

Aren't these people great? Hahaha, also, I'm open to suggestions, if you want something particular happen to Claire and Gray, by all means, post them. Be my guest! I'll try to make it happen.

**Disclaimer:_ I do not own Harvest Moon, but if I did, that would be so awesome. :)_**

* * *

Time passed, and Claire had gotten used to the farm life. Mining wasn't as hard now as it had been the first time, she had bought a basket to contain more shipping materials so that there was no reason to go back and forth from mountain to forest then to farm, she became good friends with Mary, and met all of the townspeople.

She had made friends with Ann, the orange-haired tomboy and daughter of the innkeeper, Doug. Ann was a cheerful girl, and she was easy to get along with, her carefree and easygoing personality was a breath of fresh air, instead of the others who were too girly. Claire had also met Rick's sister, Popuri. Her sweet and endearing personality was what drew Claire to her. Her favorite color was pink, the same color of her hair.

There was also the Yodel farm, right next to the poultry, where she met old man Barley and her granddaughter, May. The kid was absolutely adorable, and she always played with the mischievous prankster Stu, Elli's little brother, in front of the church. Stu lived right next to the mayor's house with her grandmother, Ellen.

Behind her farm, in the forest, lived Gotz. Apparently, he lived alone in the woods ever since his wife and daughter died in an accident on the mountains. Harris, the mayor's son, and also a policeman, often visited him when he passed through the woods during his patrol, mainly to keep him company.

Claire had also met Manna, the wife of Duke. They owned a winery which was close to the inn. Manna was nice, but she talked too much, and she wouldn't stop talking if you'd let her. Duke, on the other hand, was an alcoholic, and often he would have a drinking contest with Karen at the inn, and he would lose.

Even after all this time, she couldn't get along well with Gray.

It was already the middle of spring, and Claire's cucumbers were taking shape. Her farm was still full of weeds and other stuff, but she was getting there. She walked on over to the stables to brush Hightail, her pony, which was given to her by Barley. Apparently, the pony had been born in the Yodel ranch, and they only took care of cows and sheep there, so Claire offered to take care of him.

"There, there, Hightail. How are you, big girl?" The blonde farmer received a snort in response. She laughed and continued to brush her.

"Alright, today's the day I buy my own chicken!" She cheered. Hightail looked smug, like she was mocking her.

"Oh? You don't think I can do it, can you? I can take care of a few chickens by myself fine, you know." She said in protest. The horse didn't seem to agree and let out a snicker. The farmer laughed and pretended to punch her.

Claire had done everything she needed to do today, so she headed over to the poultry farm after washing up. She noticed Popuri tending to the chickens outside their home. She gave the pink-haired girl a wave. "Hi, Popuri."

The poultry-tender smiled gently. "Claire! How've you been? How's the farm?"

"I've been okay. The farm's still got a long way to go, though." She sighed.

Popuri patted her on the back. "It'll be fine, don't give up. So, what brings you here today?"

"I came to buy my very first chicken."

Rick's sister squealed in delight. "That's wonderful! Go right inside, my mom will take care of it."

Claire nodded and entered the building. She scanned the room, and found a slightly older version of Popuri sitting behind the counter.

"Hi, Lilia. How've you been?"

The lady smiled that gentle smile of hers. "The same as always."

Claire frowned. Lilia's health wasn't that great. She was very frail and weak that they had to close shop earlier than the others. Then on Sundays she would go to the clinic for her scheduled visits. Patently, her husband left to find the only medicine that can cure her, and hasn't returned for years, leaving a very angry Rick, a devastated Popuri, and a dismayed Lilia. _Men._

"I came to buy a chicken."

"Alright, that would be a thousand." The woman smiled. "I've provided the feed that will last for two weeks, but that would pay extra."

Claire nodded and placed the money on the counter.

"I'll have Rick deliver the chickens to you later."

Claire gave her thanks and waved goodbye to Lilia and Popuri, and headed over to Saibara's. She greeted the older man gruffly, but paid no heed to the young apprentice in the background.

"Hi, Saibara. I came to upgrade my hammer."

"Alright, did you bring an ore?"

She nodded and placed the copper ore she had mined earlier on the table.

"That will be two thousand; you can retrieve it in three days. Now get out."

Saibara shoved the blonde outside the shop and slammed the door on her. "Wish he'd be friendlier, that's _my_ money on _his_ hands. Huh. Like gramps like grandson."

She continued walking, her next destination was the library. She would often visit there to chat with Mary and read some books, that being the reason Claire had become closer to the librarian.

"Hey, Mary."

"Hello, Claire. You know where they are."

She nodded, and scooted over to one end of the room. She scanned the bookshelves and pulled one out of it. Claire wouldn't admit it, but she was a sucker for romance. She kept reading for an hour.

The bell chimed, meaning that there was another visitor, and she groaned, because she knew who the visitor was, and wished so badly for the person to go away.

"I heard your groan, you know." Gray told her, who had found his way beside Claire with a book in hand.

"There are other tables_, you know_." She mimicked.

He ignored her, and proceeded to read. She snorted.

"Hi, Gray." Mary said, he gave her a nod and she smiled, cheeks flushed. _What does she see in him, anyway?_ Claire pondered.

Days ago, Mary had bashfully revealed to Claire that she had this huge crush on the apprentice blacksmith. The blonde couldn't hide her surprise. She couldn't believe that a sweet girl like Mary would want to be with an antisocial, short-tempered jerk like Gray. They were a bit mismatched for Claire's taste, but she couldn't tell her friend that, so she kept quiet.

Gray went to the library often, as well, and there were days when he and Claire would exchange opinions and end in contradiction, which would result in flying books across each end of the room. Mary desperately tried to end their squabbling, but would end up too afraid to stand between the crossfire.

This was one of those days.

"Take that back." Gray demanded, but the female farmer could only smirk.

"Which one?"

"I am _not_ a big, egotistical ass!"

"Well, that's what _you're_ being, telling me that I was a sap for reading this type of stuff, you meddler, why don't you mind your own beeswax?"

"You are _so_ annoying!"

"Annoying? Me? What do you call yourself?"

"Someone who just wants to be left alone."

"I'd be glad to comply."

"Why did you even talk to me in the first place?"

That's how their usual conversations would go, and, sure enough, they had thrown the books that they were holding at each other, and continued to gather new ones from the shelves for their little fight, and both ended up being thrown outside the library.

"Don't come back after you've both learned some self-control!" Was what Mary said, or rather, screamed, and slammed the door.

The farmer and the blacksmith stood there, not looking at each other, both huffing, their fuses short and lit.

"I'm going home, wouldn't want to catch some of your stupidity." The blonde huffed.

"Same here, your sappiness might be contagious."

With that, their little trip to the library ended.

* * *

_Is it too short? I'm sorry. It's just that I'm kind of tired right now. I'll do better._

_Please review._


	5. Longest conversation

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter. Hope you guys like it. :D

**Massu Chan - **I'm glad. Thank you for reading up to now. XD**  
Nymphe -** Many thanks.**  
****Tinkies - **Hahaha, they really are like children, aren't they? ...and rivalry? ...maybe... *grins*

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it.

* * *

_It was in the middle of the night, Claire was fast asleep in her apartment, when she woke to a large banging on her door._

"_Who on earth…?" Lazily, she willed herself to get up, and dragged herself towards her door._

"_Claire? Open up!" A voice outside yelled. She knew that voice. She looked through the peep hole, and saw him, the bastard she broke up with, violently rapping against her door, asking her to open it._

_She regretted it the moment she unlocked that door and turned the knob._

"Hey, Ann…" Claire began, her face was buried in her arms. The orange-haired tomboy turned to face the blonde. Ann thought it was a nice sight, seeing her friend plopped on the bar counter, looking pitiful.

"Yes?"

"Why is Gray such a jerk?"

Ann raised a brow. "He's a jerk? I wouldn't know because he doesn't talk much." Ann rested her chin on both her hands.

"Well, he is. He's the only guy in town I don't get along with. His arrogance is just beyond me, I don't think we could last even half a second without arguing."

"At least he talks to you—he just shrugged his way with the rest of us." The young bar hostess stood up, fixed a glass of water and handed it to her friend.

"Oh sure, he talks to me, telling me not to talk to him." Ann laughed.

Claire took the glass and shrugged. "That just proves how much he hates my guts… not that the feeling isn't mutual." She emptied the drink in one chug, and asked for more.

"Oh come on, he can't be that bad." Ann protested, pouring the blonde another glass of water.

"Trust me. On our first meeting he pushed me like I was some sort of… of thing."Claire grunted. "The point is, he's not exactly a gentleman. He's great at making insults, though."

Ann released a giggle, and broke off when she received a glare from the blonde farmer. Cliff descended from the stairs, waved at the girls and took a seat next to Claire. The timid guy didn't notice the young bartender blushing.

"Hey, Cliff. How can you share a room with that guy, anyway?" She asked.

It took a long time, but Claire had managed to break the wall between her and Cliff, sometimes forcefully, but she didn't care. It worked, anyway. She remembered a time where she cornered a trembling Cliff at one corner of the inn. He was almost crying and she _almost_ felt sorry for him.

"With who?" She gave him a sturdy look like it was obvious. "Oh."

He shrugged. "I don't know, we both don't talk much, so… we both just kind of… mind our own businesses."

"You got that right, but _you're_ nice. Why can't he be the same?" She pressed on. The timid guy blushed at the comment, and coughed.

"Maybe he's got a lot going on with his grandfather." He said. _That's Cliff, always has something nice to say, regardless of who the person is._

"That may be the case. I would be grumpy, too, if I were yelled at every day." Ann pointed out.

_He gets yelled at every day?_ Claire took a modest sip of her water. She played with the rim of the glass.

"That's not a reason to be such an as-"

"Claire." Ann warned.

"Sorry," She glanced at her watch. "Ah, crap. Is that the time? I have to go and feed my chickens. I also forgot to visit the mines. See you guys around."

Without waiting for a reply, Claire hurried to her farm. She was greeted by a handful of feathers. Her chickens had multiplied into three, and they were all really fat and healthy, she knew that she should be happy, but she didn't want more than one chicken, forgive the pun, pecking on her. She placed a bundle of chicken feed on the container and with her basket, hammer and lantern in hand, ran off to the mines.

The mines were dark, as usual, which made her grateful that she brought her own lantern. Claire decided to venture deeper this time, excited about what new kind of ores were waiting for her there. She evaded the rocks that threatened to trip her, and then pulled out her hammer from her rucksack and smashed away.

She stayed in there for a good forty minutes, smashing heavily at the stones spread across the cave. There was a stubborn rock that just refused to be shattered into pieces, and she was getting huffier the longer it took.

"Stupid. Rock. Break to pieces already." She ordered. She held the hammer over her head and began to swing, but was stopped by a sudden snicker that emanated around the walls of the mines.

"Something amuses you?"

Who could it have been but Gray? He was the only other person she knew that hung around the mines, looking for ores. Saibara was just too old, and the townspeople didn't care about dirty minerals, anyway. Who else but, the _oh- so-annoying, oh-so-high-and-mighty _Gray?

"Nothing, really."

"I'm not really in the mood for one of your anti-social rituals, blacksmith."

"Apprentice." He corrected.

"Whatever."

Claire pretended to swat her hands away, like she was shooing him, and continued to hit the unregenerate rock with her hammer. She was getting frantic, and the golden brown-haired apprentice knew it.

He snickered again.

She let the handle of her hammer hang on her shoulders. "What _now?_"

"You really suck."

The blonde gritted her teeth and placed her hand on her waist, the other rested on the handle of her tool. "And _you_ can do better?" She challenged.

"By a large margin, too."

Claire rolled her eyes. She stepped back, giving room for him to prove his point. Gray flexed his muscles, and clenched his own hammer tightly in his fists and swung towards the rock. When they collided, the rock crumbled to pieces, along with Claire's pride.

"H-how did you _do_ that?" She asked. "That rock didn't even give a hint of crumbling no matter how hard I hit it!"

A small smile formed at the corner of his lips. Claire noticed how cute he looked when smiling, and, well… he doesn't seem _that_ evil, but then she realized how she'd practically admitted to admiring his strength, and coughed.

"So you're a _little_ better at mining than I am, well, so what?"

"A thousand times better." He corrected, still grinning. _Damn it, stop smiling, jerk!_

"Okay, did you come here just to piss me off?"

"No, I came to mine."

Claire balled her hands into a fist and attempted to hit his face, but Gray caught it easily. She pulled away. "Fair enough."

The two of them continued to smash rocks, not one of them uttering a single word. Gray was already at his twentieth stone while Claire was lucky enough to break her second.

"So," the farmer said, breaking the silence, "how's work going?"

He shrugged, not exactly sure why she was trying to make a conversation, and then proceeded to break his twenty-first rock. "Same."

"How's your forging coming along?"

"Long way to go."

"How's your gramps?"

"Still annoying."

"How's—"

He abruptly stood up straight, pointing his tool towards the blonde. "Look, if you ask me 'how's my... whatever' one more time, I'll make your head the next thing my hammer smashes, you got that?"

She grinned. "That's the longest sentence you've ever said, isn't it?"

His mouth gaped open, but no words came out. "Piss off."

* * *

xxx

_Well then, I have to go to now. I've been really busy these past few days, so I might not be able to update immediately. I'm apologizing in advance. :(_


	6. Snuck In

**A/N:** There, I took my time, didn't I? I do recall mentioning I'd be busy, but I'm still sorry. Oh, by the way, I'll be moving my replies to the reviews downstairs, at the end of the chapter. XD Hope you guys like this. This chapter's in Gray's POV.

**Disclaimer:** No matter how many times I wish for it, I can't own Harvest Moon.

* * *

"She's so annoying!" Gray yelled in front of the mirror. There he was, inside the inn's bathroom, complaining about a young blonde farmer who had just recently moved to town roughly a month ago. It was bad enough that he had to deal with his grandfather complaining about every little screw ups he did, but now he had to deal with this… this girl, and he didn't know how to deal with girls, _especially_ girls like her. No, screw that, he didn't know how to deal with _people,_ as simple as that.

He continued to glare at himself in the mirror, imagining he was glaring at the blonde. _Why couldn't she have been like the other girls in this town?_ The females in Mineral Town were simple, either they were scared of him or they simply ignored him, which meant less problems to deal with for Gray.

His train of thoughts was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door.

"Gray…?" Cliff emerged cautiously into the bathroom, careful not to anger the young blacksmith. "a-are you finished?" He asked. "…Because I really need to go."

Stomping off the room, he said, "knock yourself out."

_Even my roommate is scared of me! …can't even yell at me for staying inside the bathroom for so long. The least he could do is punch me in the face! _He descended the stairs and saw Ann, the innkeeper's daughter, and she awkwardly nodded at him. He nodded back, at least, and made his way to the blacksmith. _ Oh joy, another day with gramps._

People wondered why he was renting a room at the inn instead of living with Saibara like he should've been, but people never asked. The thing is, the two of them fight everyday like it was the end of the world, and Gray couldn't handle that. 'I'm going to live at the Inn!' he yelled. The old timer didn't say anything against it. It took several weeks for their big fight to cool off until Gray started going back to the blacksmith to work, but he still lived in the hotel.

When he arrived at the forgery, he went straight to his usual spot—right next to the furnace. Without uttering a single word to each other, the two of them started working in silence.

In his own world, Gray continued to work on his necklace, which was actually turning out pretty good, if he said so himself. Pounding away with his hammer, he couldn't help but grin a little. He imagined finishing the necklace, and prove to the old man that he can smith, after all. This little distraction caused him to pound his finger, resulting in smashed jewelry and an injured thumb. At the corner of his eye, he saw the necklace he'd been working his butt off about to fall, he reached for it and prayed that his reflexes were fast enough.

_Gotcha!_ He thought in triumph, but was later brought back into reality by the furious old man in the background.

"You clumsy oaf!" The old man yelled, "Look at what you've done! Because of your stupidity, I have to do these all over again!" He gestured to the pieces of jewelry and tools scattered around the floor.

_Well, don't rush in to check if I'm injured or anything._ "Sorry." He muttered.

"Sorry won't cut it, you idiot! Now clean that up right now!"

Gray snapped. "You don't have to yell at me like that, you ripe old man!"

…and the day would continue like this. The smith took little space in Mineral Town, so the residents here wouldn't be aware of the chaos happening inside, except for their neighbor—the poultry. Of course, since Gray did cause the mess, he cleaned it up and silently returned to work.

A few hours later, Gray had finished his necklace.

"All right! I did it!" He screamed. He didn't mean to, but he couldn't contain his happiness. He _had_ been working on it for weeks, after all. He flinched when he saw Saibara making his way towards him. He held his palm up, which meant to hand it over. Slowly, Gray placed the jewelry on his grandfather's wrinkled hand, and waited for the insult to come. But to his surprise, he didn't say anything, he just simply returned it to Gray and proceeded to work.

Confused, he couldn't resist asking. "That's it?"

The old man looked at him and raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"No insults or anything? You just looked at it and said nothing!"

"It means that it's too revolting that it's not worth criticizing."

_Oh._ "I shouldn't have asked." He muttered, and glanced at his necklace, then looked for any mistakes. Apparently, he couldn't find anything wrong with it! What the hell?

"Wait a minute, what's wrong with it _this_ time?" He held the necklace up, so that it dangled in front of his grandfather.

"Well, first of all, this portion is cracked." Saibara swiped the necklace from Gray's grasp and pointed to the small crack on one side that wasn't even noticeable. "The form is distasteful, I can tell that it will break easily, it is badly put together and the edges are ragged. In short, it is poorly done."

"What do you mean, 'poorly done?' That crack can't even be seen without a magnifying glass! Distasteful? In what way?"

"I could go on forever."

The two of them were too caught up in their argument that they hadn't noticed someone enter the forgery. They fought for a good five minutes when Gray finally snapped. He aimed for the door, and again, pushed the person out of the way.

He hadn't realized that the person followed him outside. "Damn it, Gray! That's the second time you've pushed me!" A familiar voice cried. He turned his head and saw Claire. _Must be here to check her hammer._

"I don't care. I'm quitting!"

The blonde chuckled. _What the hell is so funny?_ He turned around completely and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

"It's called training, you wimp, and you call _me_ a city girl."

Those words hit him. She had a point. There he was being a sissy while this city girl was, he didn't know what she was doing, and at the moment he didn't care. Realization hit him in the head and it hit him hard.

"You know," he pointed to her, walking backwards, "you're right."

Claire gave him a confused look. She was going to tell him something, but he had turned around and gone back inside the forgery.

_I'm such an idiot!_ He whined, smashing away at the new jewelry he had started making. _ I just embarrassed myself in front of the girl I'm annoyed with!_

The confusion on Saibara's face was clearly present when he saw Gray enter the room, even more so when he nodded at him and started working on a new project. It made him smirk just a little, but his grin was wide in his mind.

After Gray's visit to the library, he made his way back to the blacksmith's. He was feeling pretty good about himself, and he hated to admit it, but Claire had a little something to do with it—okay, a lot. Speaking of Claire, he could see her farm right now, while walking. The blacksmith wasn't very far from it, after all.

Out of curiosity, he silenced his footsteps and crept into her farm.

He crouched behind the dog house, and he saw her. She was tilling on her field, making way for new seeds to sprout instead of the cucumbers growing at one corner, beads of sweat flowed from her forehead to her collar bone. The back of her shirt was damp because of it.

"Stupid dirt," He heard her say, "just… give in already!"

Her hair was everywhere, her overalls were smeared with filth and he could only imagine what she smelled like. Others would call her absolutely filthy—or… or cruddy, or whatever they wanted to call her. She just looked stupid, but to be honest, he didn't mind this look at all. He himself was all too familiar with this look. Most of the time you'd see him with a lot of burns and scratches, his hair would be damp with sweat, and don't even start with his smell.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small ball of brown scamper to the blonde, and gnawed at the fabric of her pants, right down to her ankle. Was it her dog?

"Flea, not now, can't you see I'm working?"

_Flea? What kind of a dumb name is that? _He chuckled, which he shouldn't have done. Abruptly, he covered his mouth as he watched her snap her head in his direction.

"Who's there?" Her tone was with warning, and dangerous. He didn't dare move an inch.

"If you're not coming out, then you'll be sorry." He swallowed nervously, but he still didn't budge. "All right, you asked for it!"

He shut his eyes tightly, and prepared for whatever was coming.

"Flea! Attack!"

He rolled on the ground and burst into loud laughter.

"w-with what?" he said in between snickers, "Slobber?"

Because he was practically kissing the dirt, his vision was slightly blurry, but he could still make out the farmer right next to him with her sweaty hands on her hips, which probably meant he'd been busted, but he just couldn't stop laughing. _I mean, come on, what could that little furball do to me?_

"Well, he helped me find out who this little Tom the peep was, at least." She said, as if reading his mind.

"Point taken. I'm standing up now." As he said, he stood up, and brushed a few dusts that stuck to his light brown jacket. It was his favorite, too.

"Now, can you tell me what the hell were you doing trespassing on someone else's property?"

He flinched at the accusing tone of her voice. "It's… uh, I…"

She sighed. "Never mind, just… come here." Claire walked to her field, and stopped when she was right next to a big boulder. Her fingers patted the rough surface of the massive stone.

He looked at her sheepishly. _What's she trying to pull? _He hesitated, but remembered that he doesn't really have a say in the matter since he was kind of in the wrong. Reluctantly, he scooted over to where she gestured.

"I've been trying all day to get rid of this rock," she told him, "I won't ask why you were spying on me, and I _don't_ really want to know, but in exchange, get rid of this rock for me."

"In short, you're blackmailing me." It wasn't a question.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Right, let's get this over with." He said, and rolled up his sleeves.

A few minutes after, while working, his body went on autopilot.

_Most girls would scream and call the local policemen, but instead, she blackmails me into getting rid of this rock. Very practical._ Gray hadn't realized that he had taken an interest in Claire, or more like, he was intrigued. He didn't know what exactly it was about her that piqued his interest, but he didn't really hate this feeling. _This is probably the longest conversation I've had during my entire existence. Okay, that was a bit overboard, but still._

"How long have you been working today?" He asked, seeing her overall get up.

"Six a.m." She told him.

"What? That's like… like _ten hours_ ago!" While the blacksmith was freaking out, she stifled her giggle. He raised a brow. "What's so funny?"

"It's not like you don't know how this feels, Gray. I've seen you at the blacksmith's. Not a day goes by that the two of you don't rip each other's head off, you look like you really hate that place, but you didn't even think of quitting, well, except yesterday, you were real pathetic then." He pulled his cap down, his face was a bright shade of red, after all. She continued, "But I know you didn't really mean that."

His head snapped up, curious. "Oh yeah? How do _you_ know that?" He asked.

Claire blushed. "I don't know, who cares? Just finish your job, I've got a lot to do."

"How am I supposed to do that without a hammer?"

"Don't you have one? You _are_ a blacksmith, after all." A smirk was painted on her face.

He scowled, kicked the dirt, and walked to the blacksmith's. The trip wasn't that long, since it was just around the corner, so he was back in no time.

_Hmph. She could at least be a little nicer to me, I am getting rid of this rock for her, after all. _He shrugged and began hammering away, and he watched her resume tilling her soil to make way for her crops. At the corner of his eye, he secretly observed her, and he noticed the little bags that formed in her eyes. Man, did she look like crap. He was too busy watching her that he hadn't noticed that the huge rock had crumbled away in front of him.

"Oh cool, you're done. Thanks." She smiled at him.

Forget that she looked like a total lunatic who had her hair done by a five-year old, she absolutely glowed when she smiled, and every little stain of dirt on her face did wonders like make up would. _Damn it, what the hell is this?_

New to this feeling, he didn't know what to say, so he turned obstinate. "W-well, if you hadn't been so freaking thin, then maybe you'd be a little stronger." He said.

She frowned. "If you hadn't noticed, Gray, I'm a weak, frail girl that's too fragile for farm work."

"Psh-yeah right. I mean, look at you, you look like a freak, with that hair and those bags under your eyes."

Her hands touched above her cheeks, suddenly conscious. "I-I… can't help it."

"You don't even act like a girl. You're overalls look like they've been washed with mud."

She glanced down at her jumper, and scraped some dirt off. "I'm a farmer, Gray." There was warning in her tone, but he didn't notice it. "Farmer's can't help but get dirty."

Ignoring her comment, he folded his arms, getting pumped. "I thought you were a serial killer or something, with that hoe in your hands." He chuckled, then scoffed, "-and don't get me started on your flat chest."

_Slap!_ He didn't see that coming. Gray held his hand to his cheek, _Ouch. _"What the hell was that… for…?" He was psyching himself up to get angry but was overcome with surprise. He really couldn't believe what was happening.

She was crying.

"Get out." Her voice was low, but it sounded dangerous.

Gray was still too shocked to move, and it took a few seconds to register what she had just ordered. "H-huh?"

"I said," She clenched her fists. "Get out!" She screamed, at the top of her lungs, and as if on reflex, he immediately scurried outside her farm and ran to the inn, before she changed her mind about letting him go without killing him. _No way am I going to stay there with an agitated woman holding a heavy metal weapon in her hands._

Back at the inn, he stomped inside his room, unaware that his roommate was present inside.

"She was crying? Why the hell was she crying? We've been at each other's back since she moved here! So why the hell was she crying _now_, of all times?" He paced back and forth.

With a reluctant voice, Cliff asked: "You made Claire cry?"

Gray turned to him. "No!" He said, rather defensive. He wasn't even going to ask how he knew it was Claire.

His roommate winced. "O-okay." He let himself fall on his bed and faced the wall—away from Gray, who was clearly in a bad mood, then again, when wasn't he?

"Damn it. Why are girls so weird?"

"A-are you talking to me?" Cliff asked, suddenly faced towards Gray.

The blacksmith glared at him. "Depends. Can you answer my question?"

"N-no… but maybe… I can help, if-if you'd tell me what happened."

His glare still lingered, but he sat quietly next to him. "It all started when I had this sudden urge to sneak into her farm."

"Y-you snuck into her farm?" Cliff asked. Gray's glare hardened, the timid guy abruptly looked down and twiddled his fingers.

The blacksmith cleared his throat. "There I was, spying on her, and-"

"You were _spying_ on her?"

"Shut the hell up! I'm trying to talk here, and you know how I am about talking!"

Well, _that_ sure made the guy shut up, even made him move two inches away from Gray. Ironic how the two guys of Mineral Town who weren't good at talking were trying to make a conversation.

"I… saw her digging on her field, then this dog started to chew her pants. She called him 'Flea,' which I chuckled to, and… well, she kind of almost noticed I was there but I was hiding behind her doghouse, then she started throwing all of these threats, all of a sudden she yelled, 'Flea! Attack!' … so, yeah, imagine how that worked for her." He sighed. "I couldn't contain my laughter, so I was pretty much discovered. She didn't ask why, though, she just told me to get rid of the big rock that was in the way of her farming." He inhaled. _This has got to be the longest I've said._

"And then?" He urged.

The apprentice continued. "So I did, then she said thanks, and smiled, a-and I wasn't used to her saying that, so I threw insults at her."

"Like?"

"Like… how she was thin, and weak, and how she had bags under her eyes. I told her she looked like a freak and a serial killer, and… and…"

"And…?"

"I… told her she had a flat chest."

He stood up, Cliff did, and not in the diffident way he usually would have done, but he stood up angrily, like he was appalled or something. "You _what_?" He yelled, it was Gray's turn to flinch.

"W-what? What did I do?"

"Ruined a girl's self esteem. You had better apologize, Gray. What you did was low."

The apprentice's sapphire eyes widened in shock. "Wha-? Me? Apologize? I can't apolo… She, but I…I… I-I can't apologize!

* * *

**Massu Chan: **I have to say, thank you so much for constantly reviewing my stories, and I'm so glad it helped you ease your sour mood(even just a little.) Yes, even though Gray is a big jerk he's still cute, isn't he? ...and I love that! Claire's Knight in the UMA hat! LOL! I'll try to make your suggestions happen, please look forward to the next chapters. XD *kisses*

**Tinkies: **As always, thank you so much!

**StellaAllets: **I love Cliff and Ann together, too! XD ...and yes, Gray has...sort-of-warmed up to Claire, although it might take some time for him to realize it. XD

**sitcom99: **Thank You! I _will_ update, and yes, I loved that line, too. XD

xxx

Well, I hope you guys like _this_ chapter.


	7. Friends

**A/N:** Finally! It's done! I finished this at school, by the way. XD

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.**

* * *

_I'm never going to speak to him again._ Claire told herself while furiously brushing the soft brown fur of her pony, Hightail. _That no good, rotten, insensitive, moron!_ The horse neighed in pain. Of course, considering the way Claire was fiercely rubbing her back, if it weren't for the fact that Claire was the one who fed her, she would've kicked her on the shin ages ago.

_What the hell did I do to him to deserve such harsh judgment?_

She looked down to construe her chest area, and sighed pitifully. _Are they really that flat?_

The blonde threw the brush into the haystack, and marched angrily outside Hightail's shed. The sun was so high up, indicating it was late noon.

"I'm taking a break." She snorted, and entered her house to freshen up, and darted towards the inn.

Her small legs made their way into the creamy paseo, and the small building in front of the poultry caught her eye. She stopped, and proceeded to glare at the place, hoping the blacksmith's would blow up into oblivion. Oh, how she wished it so. _Don't explode until I've gotten my hammer. _But of course, there was no way that could happen.

She did hear a loud crash, though.

Out of reflex, she raced inside, and roughly swung the door open. Claire was greeted by a rampaging Saibara, and a sulking—brooding Gray. She glanced around the shop, and found several pieces of shattered jewelry and cracked tools on the floor. _Not again._

"How many times must we go through this, foolish boy? When will you grow up and stop acting so excited over that monstrosity? Look at what you've done! Because of your carelessness, _this_ happened!" The erstwhile blacksmith gestured to the scattered pieces below. The _younger_ blacksmith just stood there, mumbling.

Claire watched as Saibara droned on about how stupid his grandson was and how unprofessional he was acting, she was getting used to it, unfortunately. A quick glance at Gray's clenched fist, however, piqued her interest.

He seemed to be holding something.

She heard him speak. "Everything I make is a 'monstrosity' to you! Why don't you just go ahead and break this one, too?" He opened his palm and revealed a silver necklace.

Claire couldn't believe her eyes. It was absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous—to her, at least, but to Saibara, no. She couldn't understand why. She stared at it, admiring the brilliant features and the smooth, ash gray surface of the necklace. Normally, she hated jewelry, but this one was so simple and exquisite that she didn't mind making an exception at all.

"Alright then, I shall sever it right now, if that is your wish." The old man said. Gray's swallow was loud, and Claire knew that he wouldn't want that. Hell, it was a waste to throw it away.

"Fine, the way it is now, no one would buy it anyway." The angry apprentice stated.

"I would."

Both men flexed to her direction, surprised. They coughed at the same time, and the younger one pulled his U.M.A. cap down to hide his embarrassment, like the way he always did.

Saibara frowned. "How long have you been standing there, young lady? Have you no manners?"

Claire shrugged. She paced slowly towards Gray, and gently took his hands and pulled them lightly near her stomach. She didn't notice the young man blush. There she saw the necklace, it had a blue pendant shaped like a star, resting quietly on his palm, she traced its pattern with her fingers, and she felt Gray shudder at their contact. She had completely forgotten that she was mad at him.

"How much?" she asked Gray.

The old man harrumphed. "That thing isn't even worth a nickel."

Ignoring him, Claire kept her gaze on the man in front of her. She patiently waited for an answer. Gray cleared his throat uneasily.

"I…" He said. The blonde leaned in closer to listen. His face blushed furiously. "Y-you can have it!"

The smile reached her azure eyes as they shimmered in delight. "You sure? It looks really cool, they must be worth something."

Gray's eyes widened, and his mouth partly opened in surprise. Clearly, he wasn't used to his creations getting praised like that. A shy smile formed on his lips, and the blush was still there. "Just take it."

Typical Gray. He couldn't keep his face smiling for more than three seconds.

"Thanks a lot. I just might consider treasuring it, even just a little." She laughed.

His brows furrowed, miffed at her comment, but she was certain that he wasn't really mad. Claire faced Saibara. "So, is my hammer done?"

Snapping out of his trance, the old man coughed and reached for the tool tucked away at one small corner of the forgery. "Erm, yes, yes. It's done. Here you are." He told her.

She nodded her thanks, placed the tool inside her rucksack, and left the smithy after waving goodbye.

Claire was whistling on her way to the inn, she fiddled with the necklace she had just acquired and grinned while doing so. She galloped her way towards the inn but suddenly stopped midway. She realized something.

_Crap! I was supposed to be mad at him! What the hell?_

Gray was absolutely confused. Despite the pounding sounds of his grandfather's hammer in the background, his surroundings were silent to him. He just stood there, in his timid glory and tried his best to comprehend what had just happened.

"A strange girl she is, indeed." He heard Saibara mutter. He nodded silently in agreement.

It was almost one in the afternoon, and Gray was still in the mood for work. He couldn't help it. It was the first time one of his forgings had been praised like that, and it was a great boost in ego. Normally, he would've gone to the library, read a book and maybe argue with a certain blonde over there, but not this time. He wanted to work. He was inspired.

Saibara didn't say anything, he didn't grumble about his grandson extending his time inside the forgery. Gray _could _see that the old man was a bit confused. He couldn't blame him, though. He was befuddled himself. It wasn't like him at all. He hated his grandfather so much, but he wants to be a blacksmith, so, a choice in the matter, he didn't actually have.

"So… should I like, pound this harder or should I meld it in the fire first?" He asked.

"Of course you should meld it first!" was his reply.

He nodded, while gritting his teeth. _Calm down, calm down, Gray. The old man's turning senile, so be patient._ He headed to the furnace and slipped in the shaped mineral.

After half an hour, he twiddled his thumbs and approached Saibara. His face was a deep shade of red. The old man turned to him and frowned. "What is it?"

"Uh," He swallowed hard, "do you think you could, um… show me," His pointed to his ore. "…how it should be done?"

The old man's wrinkled eyes widened. Sure, he was old, but he knew his years, and gained credible wisdom over time. He had seen many things, but this would be the first time his grandson had asked him for advice on anything, let alone forging. He nervously cleared his throat, and proceeded to the furnace.

"After placing this on the anvil, you would want to drop your hammer on the ore. To get the desired shape you need to position the material on the die, and carefully, the cogging process starts."

The apprentice nodded seriously, jotting down notes in his mind. He made sure that his grandfather had his full attention, so as to not anger him again, and he was actually serious for a change.

During Saibara's explanations, Gray would attentively nod and occasionally ask questions. Of course, the aged blacksmith would impatiently reply with insults but would answer his questions seriously. It was an awkward moment for the both of them, but it wasn't so bad, Gray thought.

After that, he headed for the inn. _Looks like I wasn't able to visit the library today._ He shrugged and paced himself, once he reached the hotel doors he spotted his roommate on one of the tables.

"Hey, Cliff."

The auburn-haired man nodded. Ever since his little 'outburst' yesterday, Gray had gained a little respect for him, although he still had a long way to go from being spineless. He pulled a chair and took a seat beside him.

Cliff moved slightly to give him room. "So… if you'd… look over there." He gestured to the bar counter. Gray flexed his head to see what Cliff was pointing at, and… well…

It was Claire.

Immediately, he turned to Cliff, facing away from the blonde. He could feel a furious blush creeping into his face. _Stop blushing, damn it!_

"What is she doing here?" He asked in a low, harsh tone.

His friend squirmed anxiously, "W-well, to see Ann, of course."

"I'm going upstairs." He told Cliff.

The timid guy coughed and motioned for him to approach the blonde. "Aren't you kind of… forgetting something?"

"Like what?" He asked.

"Yesterday?"

Gray turned slowly, revealing a glare that hardened as it reached Cliff's eyes. "If you're talking about yesterday's incident," he crossed his arms. "…I'm not budging."

"B-but…"

"Look, I'm not going to apologize! Not in a million years!" He protested.

"Claire, she… she bought your necklace, didn't she?"

He furrowed his brows to think, massaging his temples in the process. He couldn't believe Cliff, of all people, was trying to guilt-trip him to death.

"Wait a minute…" He flicked his head up. "How'd you know she bought my necklace?"

He wriggled nervously, "She arrived here before you, and she practically showed it to every person in here. Claire seemed pretty happy."

"S-she was?"

Cliff nodded. "She was, but I'm pretty sure you didn't apologize."

"…and how do you know _that_?"

"Right after she barged in here, she yelled; 'That idiot, rotten, no good loser! I can't believe I forgot to tell him off!'" Gray winced, but he returned to his seat right next to Cliff. His roommate continued, "A-after that she sat ferociously by the counter, complaining to Ann how you just stood there while she bought the necklace, but right after mentioning the necklace, her mood became lighter and now she won't stop praising it. The weird thing is… she just keeps it in her pocket."

For the umpteenth time, he blushed. "That's… just plain weird."

"W-well, I still think you should apologize."

"For the last time, Cliff! I'm not going to—"

The fainthearted boy cringed, "eep," was all he could manage. "I-I'm sorry."

"Oh, crap!" Claire suddenly yelled from across the tables. The two boys jumped in their seats. "My plants! There's still so much to harvest, darn it! I have to go! See you, Ann! Bye, Cliff."

_What about me?_ He huffed, and she darted towards the doors and disappeared in a flash.

"When she runs off, it's always about her farm." Ann told the boys as she poured both of them a drink. "Hey Cliff." She blushed. "…Gray." She scowled.

Gray looked like he didn't know what to do for a second. _Is there any particular reason why she's miffed at me?_

"I heard you gave Claire a necklace." _I knew it._

He nodded. "Yeah, so?"

"So… why?"

He pulled his cap down. "W-well, I was about to have gramps demolish the stupid thing, when she suddenly asked how much it was."

Ann rested her chin on her palm. "Maybe she thought it'd be a waste."

He shrugged. "Maybe."

"_Maybe_ she bought it for a reason." She wondered.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, like… to make a certain blacksmith feel better about himself?"

"She said that?" Gray asked, slightly hurt.

Ann tapped her fingers on the table. "Well, not really. Claire seemed like she genuinely adored it. Why don't you _ask_ her?" She pressed. Ann stared at Gray smugly. Her eyes piercing his.

_Why is she looking at me like that? What is she playing?_

"I'm… going for a walk."

"Hey, wait—"

A—nd he was gone.

Claire carefully extracted the cucumbers from the fragile soil. She wiped the sweat that flowed from her forehead with her arm. Sighing, she bended herself backwards until something snapped. She swooned.

"Done. Finally." She exclaimed.

She threw some of the harvested crops into the shipping bin, and she saved the rest of them for later use. With a grunt, she let herself fall on the patch of grass next to the apple tree right beside her fishing pond—which reminded her that she was planning on going fishing tomorrow. Lazily, she shut her azure eyes and let her consciousness drift away.

_Bam! The banging on the door wouldn't stop. Every drumming sound on the door echoed harshly through her eardrums. Soft light escaped between the rim of the said door and the floor, shedding light into the dark room._

"_Claire!"_

_What does he want in this hour, she asked herself. She swore to hold injustice in whoever was banging on her door right at this very moment. Claire was going to sue, and she meant it._

"_Who on earth…?" She inquired groggily, scratching her eyes and failing an attempt to brush her hair with her fingers into decency._

"_Claire, open up!" The man exclaimed, still pounding on the door._

_Reluctantly, she pulled herself into a sitting position, and dragged her feet lazily to the door. "I'm coming, I'm coming," she mumbled. "Keep your shirt on."_

_She reached for the knob and slowly opened the door._

With a sharp gasp, Claire brusquely opened her eyes. _Why can't I remember what happened after opening that door?_ It was a short nap, and she found herself staring face-to-face with eyes the same color as her own, except they belonged to someone other than herself.

"Whoa!" She quickly sat up, and bumped her forehead on the intruder's chin. "Ow!"

"Man, that smarts! What the hell is your problem?" The guy cried. He rubbed his chin frantically, trying to ease the pain. Claire did the same, except she did the rubbing on her forehead.

"Gray!" She cleared her throat. "What, here for another stalking session?" She told him, sarcastically, if that wasn't obvious enough.

Gray swallowed, and then breathed deeply. "No, I…"

"Yes?"

"I-I came here to ask you something." He said.

She was getting annoyed with all of this dallying. "Well then, spit it out."

"Why did you buy it?" He asked suddenly.

Caught off guard, she froze. After a few seconds and regaining her composure, she fiddled with her blonde locks and laughed. "That's a stupid question."

"Then give me a stupid answer."

She grinned. "Well, because I liked it."

Gray narrowed his eyes. "You sure you weren't feeling pity on me or something?"

This time, she chuckled. Hard. "Now why would I do that when I'm supposedly angry at you? I actually wanted to smack you into the next century, but when I saw that necklace, it's like… something snapped, you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"I-I mean," It was her turn to blush. "I mean I love it. I don't normally wear jewelry, you see. I just keep it in my pocket and stare at it for a while."

"Why buy it when you're not going to wear it?" He asked.

She shrugged. "Is it really your business?"

He squirmed awkwardly. "I-I guess not," he shrugged. "…but… you know something? While I was making that," He pulled his cap lower, completely hiding his eyes. He looked so small when he's like that. "…I thought of you."

The red reached her ears. Literally. She didn't say anything, but she was actually screaming in her mind. _Crap, is he like, in love with me? _"Excuse me?"

"N-not in the way that you think, of course!" He protested. "I-I… I was thinking how I should… apologize… or… something." Each word grew weaker with every syllable. _Oh._

Claire couldn't believe it. Gray was here, at her farm, actually trying to _apologize_. It was a challenge not to burst in laughter.

"Hmmm… really, now?" Her blue eyes narrowed in mischief. "Then you may proceed. Out with it. Go on." She urged.

Gray just looked at her with a perplexed expression. "Wh…what?"

"You heard me. Apologize."

He gulped. "N-now?"

She placed her fists on her waist. "When, then?"

"Now… I guess." He said.

Claire leaned against the shipping bin, feeling amused. Gray nervously cleared his throat and prepared for the most embarrassing event of his life. Well, next to yesterday.

"Ahem," he began. "Claire, I…"

The blonde grinned, which made the apprentice even more uncomfortable. She was making this into a show, and getting a laugh at his expense. But there was no turning back now… It was now or never.

"I… I…" Claire could hear his heart beating loudly in the background. No, seriously. "about… yesterday, I…"

He shut his eyes. Claire almost felt sorry for him. He was clearly suffering from this, but she only _almost_ took pity on him, so she didn't budge.

"I-just-wanted-to-say-I'm-sorry!" He said continuously, without pausing.

Claire held her hands up, pushing them forward and backward simultaneously. "Whoa, whoa. Back up. _What_ did you say?"

He glared at her. "You're evil."

She grinned, feeling devilish. "I know. Now, what were you saying earlier?"

"I'm…sorry." He said through his gritted teeth.

In a painfully mocking sweet tone, she asked, "For…?" He groaned.

He continued, while staring at the ground. "…For sneaking into your farm, a-and… for saying all those things."

"Okay." She said, in an almost nonchalant way.

He looked up and stared at her, confused. "Huh?"

"I said," she emphasized, and leaned farther on the shipping bin. "okay."

"Seriously?"

Claire sighed. "Look, do you want to be forgiven or not?"

"Well, yeah…um, thanks." He scratched his head.

The blonde smiled. "Glad that's over with. Friends?" She held her hand up.

With a blush still evident on his face, he took her hand.

"Friends."

* * *

**dannt - **Thank you, I'm glad you think so. Yes, I kind of based the last chapter on a heart event, though I can't remember what color. Please, look forward to the next chapter. XD

**skitsophraniac - **Oh, that? Honestly, I wanted Cliff with Ann, as well. But, I like him with Claire, too. That paring ranks number two in my heart, next to Claire and Gray, of course. I love Cliff, I don't want to break his heart. LOL

**Massu Chan - **Hahaha, yes. He does deserve it, but I don't want to punish him too much. Thank you for the review. XD

**PrincessToasty - **Thank you so much for this comment! Haha, I'm glad I'm doing a long story as well. I was actually laughing while thinking of Cliff's lines. (^_^)

**xXx Tinkies xXx - **Brutal, indeed! hahaha! Don't worry, Claire had a little fun in the end.

(T_T) Seriously guys, thanks you so much for reading this far! I am so loving you guys right now! You are all so awesome! ...Oh, and thank you for those who added this story to their alerts and favorites! My eyes are leaking buckets right now! (T_T)

I hope you all liked this chapter. XD


	8. The Melancholic Woodcutter

**A/N:** Okay. I took so long, I know... and here's my usual lame excuse: It was foundation week and I'm an organizer, not to mention I had a bunch of tests to worry about. XD Anyway, here's the chapter, hope you like it.

**Disclaimer: **I've said it before and I'll say it again; I do not own Harvest Moon.

* * *

The library echoed silence in the room, the only sounds that could be heard where the faint straits of the turning of pages in a book, the silent scribbles and scratches of a pen writing on paper, and the occasional clearing of throats of the three distinct people in the room.

"Hey," Claire called. A young boy twisted his head to let her know he had some of his attention. He carefully tugged his hat to his liking, and raised a brow.

"What?" Gray replied. It was almost in a tone of annoyance.

She laughed softly, "What are you reading?" she asked, with a childish smile on her face.

"It's really none of your business."

She frowned. "You ungrateful little blacksmith! Who was it that selflessly forgave you even though you've been a real ass, and said all sorts of hurtful words? Who was it that praised the very first necklace that you finished, and treasured it with all of her heart?" Claire elbowed him beneath his rib cage, and he winced in pain.

"Don't start on me, ever since that day, you've done nothing but coax me into doing your little farm chores. I've had a sore back since then. Some 'friend' you are." He scoffed, and massaged the back of his shoulder and groaned.

"Oh come _on_! Don't be such a wimp. Surely, you can handle a few twigs, rocks and crops, don't you? You're a big strong man, after all." A smug look bewrayed her face as she told him, Gray cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Of course I can, if they were actually only _few_! One hundred million isn't what you would define as 'few!'"

"Now that I think about it, I think I'm having my barn upgraded today…" she marveled.

Gray shook his head frantically. "Oh no you don't! I'm not tagging along in this upgrade! No way!"

Claire pouted and turned to Mary. "What do _you_ think, Mary? Don't you think he's being mean?"

The librarian jumped from suddenly being included in the conversation. "Um, well… literally a hundred million isn't really few."

"You're siding with _him_, now? I thought I was your friend!" The blonde whined.

Gray laughed, and shook his head. "I'm Mary's friend too, you know."

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm the better friend, aren't I, Mary?"

Mary fixed her glasses awkwardly. She couldn't hide her nose in a book to escape with this one, no way. "Um, can't I choose both?"

"Keep your mouth shut, Claire; can't you see you're making her uneasy?"

The blonde let out a silent _hmph, _and turned away from the both of them, burying her face in her book. Gray and Mary exchanged glances, with the latter seemingly worried, and started to pace herself towards the farmer.

In the middle of the room, she asked. "Claire? Are you angry?"

Soft hands grabbed hold of the librarian's shoulders, and slowly slid across her back into a rough embrace. "Of course not, Mary. Now, why on earth would I be mad at you? If it were Gray he'd already be dead, but since it's you, we're cool."

Seething with laughter, the enclosed space of the book-filled walls brightened, except for the little grumble of the town's apprentice blacksmith. The two girls were wrapped up in an embrace in the middle of the room, and Gray allowed himself to be comfortable on the library chairs while frowning in disgust.

Mary's laugh faded. "Kidding aside—"

"I wasn't kidding about killing Gray." Claire said. She received a glare for that.

"Go shoot yourself, farmer." He told her.

She snapped back, releasing her grip of Mary and crossing her arms. She paced slowly towards the future blacksmith. "Try smiting yourself with your hammer, blacksmith."

"Apprentice." Gray corrected. The blonde stuck her tongue out at him.

"Ahem." Mary uttered. The two slowly turned their heads to face the librarian in sync, stared at her face and winced as they knew they shouldn't make this girl angry.

"Yes?" Both said at the same time.

Claire observed as Mary adjusted her glasses, and cleared her throat, her frightening expression had faded and now all her face wore was a gentle smile. "As I was _saying_," she turned to Gray. "The Spring Goddess Festival is coming up."

Gray parted his lips to form an 'O,' like he just realized something. "Right. We always go together, don't we?" He stated. Mary frowned.

"Why? Are there changes of plans _this_ time?" the young bibliotheca asked, a hint of worry betrayed her voice, which was slightly trembling.

"Uh," he glanced at Claire, who glanced back, her sapphire eyes were filled with confusion, and then his eyes returned to Mary. "Not really."

The conservative girl bowed her head, hiding her face. "…you hesitated."

The farmer watched as Gray leaned in closer towards Mary to listen. "Did you say something?" Immediately, she flicked her head up and smiled, startling the apprentice into a jump.

"Nothing."

Claire revealed creases on her forehead. "Um, what's the Spring Goddess Festival?" She asked.

Mary clasped her hands together, still wearing an awkward smile. "It's a festival dedicated to the Harvest Goddess. Back in the old days, they went around carrying a goddess statue, but nowadays women just wore costumes."

The light-haired farmer rested her chin on her palm, "Really? Sounds boring."

"Are you serious? It's every girl's dream to wear a dress and dance around with their prince charming!" Mary whispered, making sure Gray didn't hear about the prince charming part.

Laughing to herself, Claire folded her arms once again and sat down. "Well, it's not like a have a dress, anyway. I'm not going."

"Why not?" asked Gray.

"You heard me. I got nothing to wear, and I'm not really that great of a dancer." She claimed.

Mary bit her lip and took a step forward towards her. "That's too bad, Claire. I suppose you _could_ go if someone invites you to the festival."

"Maybe." Claire waved goodbye, leaving the two behind.

Claire found herself wandering towards Mother's Hill. After finishing all the work that she was supposed to do for the day, and deciding to take a break, her decision fell on taking a walk. She is left to think about the festival. _The Goddess Festival, huh?_

This farmer had never been to a dance before, and even though she was a former city girl, she had never worn a dress her whole life, more or less a skirt. What was she supposed to do? Obstinately, she wouldn't dare admit to Mary that she wanted to go, and besides, Gray was taking her. Claire would never take that away from her friend.

She arrived at the hilltop, and gasped in awe of the wonderful red orange color that blanketed the sky. Claire took her time to gaze at it, but was distracted by the figure that perched at the edge of the steep hill.

"Cliff?"

He turned around in surprise, and smiled when the young wanderer recognized the small blonde frame behind him. "Hi, Claire. I didn't know you liked it here."

"Well, I told you—"

"Right. Quiet places." He finished for her.

Claire posed beside him, and stared at the cloud-filled sky. She saw Cliff at the corner of her eye, doing the same.

"So, the festival..." She began. "…you're taking Ann, right?"

He squirmed in embarrassment, instead of the sky, he stared at the view below, occupied by tiny trees and the steepness of the cliff. "N-no, I…" He sighed pitifully. "I can't."

Claire glared at him. "Why not?" It was almost a shout.

He winced. "I-i-it's about guts." The shy boy exclaimed. "…I… don't have it."

The owner of Sapphire Farm laughed. Cliff bowed his head down in abashment, his face a deep shade of crimson. "Very funny." He mumbled.

"S-sorry." She told him whilst giggling. "Oh come on, maybe all you need is a little push. Don't you want to take her out?"

"I do! Badly!" He yelled, startling the blonde. "But… I really can't." He resumed his slouching position. Claire observed him for a few minutes and was taken aback when he suddenly jumped to stand. "I have an idea!"

Claire eyed him suspiciously, "…is it safe?"

With a chuckle, Cliff playfully—and softly hit the back of her head, earning a laugh from the farmer. "Why don't we go together? I mean, I probably wouldn't be _that_ nervous when we go together."

"Huh? But I wasn't planning on going. I don't even know how to dance, and what do I do about my dress?"

"Please, Claire?" _No way. Please, not the puppy dog eyes!_

Glassy eyes, pouting lips, perched brows, and a look that says: do what I say—only, in a cute way. This was her weakness. She may be tough on the outside and, well, on the inside, but she's still a sucker for puppy dog eyes.

"No, I am _not_ falling for that one." She refused. Firmly.

_He's still wearing that adorable, guilt-tripping, cute, yet so-very-evil look._

"Nice try."

This time, he whined. In an endearing way, he whimpered, and Claire cringed, knowing she was defeated. Hey, she knew when to call it quits. "Oh, fine. Have it your way"

Cliff practically jumped for joy. "Thank you, Claire! See you at the festival! Oh, and you don't have to be good at dancing, I suck at it, too." With that, he left Mother's Hill in a galloping manner. She watched as he did so, and shook her head in amusement.

The next day, Claire was weeding her farm. She still had a long way to go, though. While pulling the green atrocities, Hightail could be seen running in the background, chasing a panicked Flea.

"Geez, how long will it take until you guys go away?" She exclaimed. The farm replied with chirping birds and farm animals scraping the earth beneath their feet. Claire's face lit up, suddenly remembering something. "The barn. I can get it upgraded now." And she smiled.

Skipping, she waltzed into the woodcutter's humble abode, and welcomed herself in.

"Gotz?"

A sudden clank of wood made her jump. Not long afterwards, the huge woodcutter emerged from the shadows of his quaint little home. "Claire." He nodded in acknowledgement.

She smiled. "I came to have my barn upgraded."

"I see," He stared at the ground in deep thought, and returned his gaze to Claire. "and the chicken coop?"

"Amazing as always." Claire beamed.

Finally, Gotz released a small smile from his lips and picked up his tools. "I've always known you had a knack for appreciating good architecture."

"Of course. I'm amazing, aren't I?" She boasted, and the two of them left his cabin to head for her farm.

At the farm, Claire was preparing something to eat for the woodcutter, who was working on her barn. He was at one corner, briskly sawing away, ignoring all the cows and sheep trying to sneak a peek on what he was up to.

"Here you go, Gotz."

With his wrist, the buff man wiped the sweat from his forehead and reached for the glass of juice Claire had prepared for her. "Thank you, you can go work on your farm. I'm fine."

"Oh, I was planning on milking the cows and shearing the sheep, anyway. I'll keep you company." Claire told him, and headed towards the black and white animal. She heard Gotz chuckle softly as she walked.

"You are a strange one, no?"

"I am a strange one, yes." They both laughed. Claire grabbed the milker, "So, isn't it lonely? You know, being alone in the woods?" The cow mooed as the farmer extracted the milk from it.

He shrugged. "I've gotten used to it. Once in awhile Harris visits my house while he's on patrol, and keeps me company. A nice man, that guy."

Claire nodded. "Yes, I've seen him at work, and I think I saw him while I was buying lumber from you?"

Gotz nodded while he sawed. "He left me in charge of patrolling the mountains."

"Is that why you're not home on mornings?" She asked, the squirting sounds of milk in the background. "Is it really that dangerous on the mountains?"

The woodcutter stopped, and turned to Claire, who was nervous by the sudden halt. "It's very dangerous! Don't go there at night!"

The sudden outburst made her speechless, and Gotz quickly apologized for raising his voice. He returned to working on the barn and faced the corner. Claire couldn't see his rough face now. She neared him until she was exactly behind him, waiting for the man to say something.

"My family…" He began, "they… died on that mountain."

Silently, she gasped. Her hands found their way to her face, and covered her mouth to represent surprise… and guilt. There was a sharp silence. It was almost painful to hear.

"I'm sorry." No words could describe how sorry she felt. Gotz had lost his family, his everything, and now he had to relive his past by going to the mountains _every_ morning. Claire couldn't imagine. The past had always haunted Claire, as well, but the people involved were alive. She couldn't even try to guess how hard Gotz must have taken it when the actual event happened.

Claire felt her eyes begin to water.

"Now, now. What have you to be sorry about? It wasn't your fault that they…" He frowned. Gotz shook his head and placed a hand on Claire's slumped shoulder. "Wipe that gloomy look on your face. I wouldn't really like it if someone pitied me."

"Sorry…"

"I said, no need to be sorry. Clamp your mouth shut or I'll do it for you." He threatened.

Claire laughed, because she knew better that he didn't mean it. Gotz was becoming like a father to her now, and she felt that she had created a small space in his, as well. "Okay, okay. Keep your shirt on, old fart."

"Say that again one more time while looking at this saw I'm holding."

* * *

**dannt - **Oh dear, I'm so sorry. I knew I shouldn't have done that. I got kind of carried away with the last chapter. Forgive me, the next time Gray does something stupid, I'll make sure Claire gets a punch or two.

**Massu Chan** - You're absolutely right! LOL. Yes, it's been eight chapters and the only progress they've made so far is being friends. Wohoo. Bear with me. XD

**ToWriteLove** - Thank you so much. XD Oh, Kai is a given. I'm definitely going to include him in this story, except it's not summer yet, so... haha. and Karen? I'll try that. Thank you. XD Now that I think about it, she _would_ be fun to write, eh? XD

**xXx Tinkies xXx** - As always, thank you very much. XD

**PrincessToasty** - Really? You did? That's hilarious! LOL. Thank you. I shall try to update faster.

**CliffAnnFC** - Thank you! Yes, your username really does tell it

**StellaAllets** - Hahaha, thanks. Oh, and thanks for the message. Appreciate it. XD


	9. A Moment Inside the Chicken Coop

**A/N: **I'm really, really, really sorry this took so long! I really do apologize, especially those who took their time to send me a message telling me to finish this story. :( Here's my usual lame excuse, then: I have this AVP (Audio Visual Presentation) Project, and it's a huge client. It's sorta like a job, and we have to make a video promoting a college university, so I've been sitting at the edge of my chair, waiting to fall down. They've been pressuring my co-workers and I about the deadline coming up soon, so I haven't had the time to write this. The AVP isn't really finished, so I might still be slow in updating. Really sorry!

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARVEST MOON! XD**

* * *

"The stupid festival is _tomorrow_ and I still don't have anything stupid to wear!"

Things have gotten out of hand. The house was a terrible mess. Clothes were scattered everywhere, the bed was left completely catastrophic, and sets of makeup were disordered on the small table in front of her mirror. In short—everything was a total disaster.

"I'm so stupid for stupidly thinking that I could stupidly pull off something as stupid as this! Stupid Mineral Town for stupidly coming up with this stupid…" Claire ravaged through her drawers in a panic, looking for the dress she was forced to buy for a party at work back when she lived in the city, but so far, no luck. "It has to be here somewhere."

She screamed in triumph when she discovered the dress at the deepest, cryptic, mystifying parts of her suitcase. Claire held it proudly. She admired the faint sapphire color that the dress emitted, decorated with small beads that still glittered even after all the years it had been put away. It was tight around the waistline, perfectly showing off a girl's figure, and the hem was split until the knee, where you could see a seductive portion of her legs.

"Finally." A small smile tugged on her lips, clearly proud of herself. "Now to try you on."

Excited, the blonde undressed and slipped into the fabric, loving the feeling of silk brushing against her skin. Her strap reached her shoulders and she searched for the zipper that was little inches above her bottom. When she had found it, she carefully pulled it upwards. _Zip_, the thing sounded. However, the unexplainable happened.

_It won't close. _Her azure eyes widened in horror. "No way. I won't believe it." In frenzy, she shook her head. "I've been working on a farm! I exercise everyday! I _work_ hard _every day_! How could I have _gained weight_?"

What could she do now? The festival was tomorrow, and there was no way she could just magically lose pounds overnight. Where was she going to find a dress by the day after today? "I could use a fairy godmother right about now." She sighed, slumped on her bed.

Coincidentally, her doorbell rang. _Well, that was fast. I wonder what she looks like._

Energized, she reached for the door, opened it. Her fairy godmother had brown hair, a large stomach, broad shoulders, and wore a white shirt and navy blue jogging pants. Her fairy godmother also sported a brown mustache and had small beady eyes. It was Gotz. He was holding a dainty white box in his rough hands. She tried to hide the disappointment forming on her face. "Gotz? You can't be a fairy godmother… If you were, then you'd have to be my fairy godfather."

His reply was a raised brow.

Claire's cheeks turned beet red after realizing what she had said, while the woodcutter found his laughter. "I'm no fairy godmother, but today, I'm something in between those lines."

Embarrassed, she scratched her head. "Really, now? What do you have there?" She pointed to the white box he cradled softly in his arms.

A grunt came out of his breath, and he held the box out. "Here, I have no use for this, so you can have it." Carefully, he opened the box and revealed a gorgeous white dress. She gasped momentarily, and gently took it out, feeling the fabric sliding out of its home. It was beaming with wonderful flower patters on one of the thin straps, simple, see-through crystalline laces dangled at the waistline, and the long, streaming skirt flowed elegantly to the floor, as if it were dancing.

It was absolutely, stunningly beautiful.

"It belonged to my daughter." Gotz revealed. He stared at her with solemn, gentle eyes, and gripped the box tightly as he watched while Claire marveled at the dress.

Frowning, the farmer shook her head violently. "I-I can't…"

"You don't have to say anything, Claire. I want you to have it, because I know you'll take good care of that dress." He insisted. Reluctantly, the farmer took the white box from his hands, and set it on top of her bed. Afterwards she placed the dress beside it.

Claire held the woodcutters hands lovingly, full of gratitude. Her eyes pierced his somberly, and uttered two words that could never be enough to express how she feels.

"Thank you."

He gave her a knowing smile. A smile Claire had never seen before, and she watched as he turned his large back towards her and marched outside the farm, his figure getting smaller and smaller, as it vanished into the woods.

_I've got a dress for the festival… I have to tell Mary!_ Excitedly, she ran towards the library.

Mary's smile seemed sort of fabricated to Claire, she tucked her blonde hair behind her ears, and asked what was wrong. Her best friend frowned and paced restlessly on the shelf-covered library walls. She grumbled something Claire couldn't understand.

"He still hasn't asked me to the festival." She revealed.

Claire tilted her head in confusion. "You mean Gray? I thought you two go every year?"

"I thought so too, per se. However, as you can see, he still hasn't asked me, and that's postulating for trouble." The librarian mumbled through her teeth ever so slowly. It made Claire shiver through her spine.

_Right. I probably shouldn't ask her what postulating means right now._ "Oka-y… do you want me to talk to him?"

"No!" She said that rather quickly for Claire's taste.

"Why not?"

"Because _you're_ probably the reason he's not asking me in the first place!" Mary snapped, and boy had she snapped. She walked over to Claire, and each step grew heavier as she neared her. Now, this struck the farmer as odd. She wouldn't know of any reason why Gray wouldn't ask Mary to the dance because of her. Maybe he just wasn't going to the festival this year because of something. She didn't know what it was, but it was something.

"Maybe he's sick?" It was futile trying to make excuses, but it was better than nothing, she thought.

"Do you honestly believe that?" Mary inquired. Skeptically. "Seriously, Claire. I think it's because he's going to ask _you._"

Her azure eyes widened. "Wh-what? Are you listening to yourself? Why on earth would he do that?" She watched as Mary's eyes narrowed and sat on the chair behind her desk. "I mean, even if he were to ask me, I still wouldn't… or rather, couldn't go."

That made the librarian's eyes lit up. "What?"

"I'm going with Cliff."

"But I thought you weren't going because you didn't have a dress?"

"Well yeah, but… Gotz gave me his daughter's, so…"

Mary was smiling now. "Cliff likes you? And you like him?"

Claire shook her head frantically. "No, no. no! Cliff likes Ann! You should know that. We're going together because he doesn't have the balls to ask her. He's too much of a wimp, but I think I kind of want to set them up at the festival."

"How are you going to do that?"

Confidently, Claire sat on the counter, wearing a huge grin. "Well, when Cliff and I are dancing, I _might_ feel a certain headache coming in, so I _might _ask Ann to accompany Cliff while I rest at one corner of the square."

"That will leave you without a date, Claire."

She shrugged. "Meh. I can manage."

"Wouldn't that be… embarrassing?"

"I don't need a boy just to have a good time, Mary."

With that, Mary smiled. "Okay then. I'll come over tomorrow after lunch to fix your make up."

Suddenly, Claire wrapped her in a suffocating embrace. She heard her friend grunt as she squirmed to adjust between her arms. "Thanks, Mary! I was hoping you'd say that! I have no idea what to do with make-up, it's alien to me." She cried in mock horror.

"I'll call Gray to tell him he'll be picking me up at your place." She smiled.

The following day was quite busy for Claire, as she woke up earlier than usual to finish all of her work before Mary arrives at her farm. When she had, though, she was oozing sweat all over, and she smelled terrible. She stepped into the bathroom, turned the shower on, and let the warm water wash away all of her filth. She let out a slight moan.

"I could stay here forever." Her bathroom was beginning to be covered in fog, and it was high time she got out.

Claire's thoughts drifted to the dance. She wondered about what could happen after she arrived with Cliff. Will the townspeople be shocked? Will Manna spread rumors about the two of them? Will Ann get mad… and… will Gray?

She shook her head frantically. _Enough 'wills,' Claire, of course he wouldn't. I mean, why would he? It's not as if he likes you or anything. You're just thinking he does because of what Mary said. You know better._

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden knock on her door.

"Claire?" Her voice, followed by a few soft bumps on the door, called out to her excitedly. "Open up."

"Coming."

Mary's voice immediately took over upon opening the door. "Oh, Claire, you have to show me your dress! It's no good if your make up doesn't match it. This festival only happens once a year, after all. Everything has to be perfect!"

"Calm down, tiger. It's not going anywhere." Claire told her while walking towards the end of the room, where she kept the box. Her hands found their way towards it and carefully opened it, revealing the beautiful white dress. She watched as Mary's eyes widened in awe by Gotz's daughter's dress. It was a fitting reaction for the well-deserved coiffure.

Through her glasses, Mary sneered at the farmer. "Well now, I see you'll have no problems looking hot tonight." She giggled.

Claire could feel a blush creep into her cheeks. "Liar." She said, followed by a laugh.

"Let's get started."

She sighed. "I have a feeling this is going to be nasty."

Her feeling was right. They spent hours of ironing their hair, applying eye shadows and blush-ons and other horrible beautifying stuff, not to mention the whole backbreaking process of tightening the girdle on their waists. It was an absolute nightmare.

While Mary was applying the eye liner for Claire, she frowned. "Don't even think about crying! You'll ruin everything!"

"I can't help it! When you stretch my eyes like that and it's all exposed, it's going to tear up!"

"Hold it in!"

"I can't!"

Before Claire knew what was happening, Mary had her lying on the bed, unable to move because of the librarian's entire weight on her shoulders, and it wasn't a figure of speech.

"Damn it, Mary! What are you doing?"

"Hold… still." The dark-haired girl uttered through her teeth, drawing on the lines of the blonde's eyes.

The farmer willed herself not to cry. She had to please Mary today, since they almost had a fight yesterday. _Stupid Gray._ "Are you… finished?"

Her friend shook her head. "This will be much easier if you'll just hold still."

After hours of struggling, arguing and rampaging, they finally finished. Well, putting make up on Claire, at least. Mary still hadn't started on hers, and both of them were in a panic. Claire was filled with regret now of not calling Elli. As she watched Mary carefully apply her eyes with eye-shadow, she was struck with realization.

"I forgot to feed my chickens!"

Mary stood up, turned to face Claire wearing a tempestuous look on her face. "Oh no, you don't Claire. I'm not going to let you march around in that chicken coop after ages of putting on that make up of yours! Let alone ruin the dress Gotz gave you!"

"B-but Mary… I have to feed them, or they'll get sick." She protested.

Mary shook her head. "I know, Claire, I understand. It's just that, your make up…"

"Sorry, I won't carry them around and I won't ruin anything that's plastered on my face. Promise." She raised her right hand, as if swearing an oath, and smiled.

To Claire's surprise, Mary smiled back, and waved her hands as if to shoo her away. "Fine, go and feed your pets or something."

She let out a small laugh and darted towards the door.

The sky was beginning to darken. Judging from the beautiful indigo color it was in; she figured it was almost six. She had to hurry if she wanted to be ready before the boys arrived. She inhaled the fresh air she longed to breathe in, because she couldn't do so inside the house with the perfume Mary was spraying on herself. Despite her friend's insisting, she refused to be sprayed on perfume. Claire couldn't handle much of the stuff. Besides, wearing perfume just wasn't her style.

She grunted. It was hard walking around in the dirt with the shoes she was wearing, and getting to the chicken coop was taking a bit longer than usual. _Was the coop always this far?_

"That was a weird sound just now."

Her head turned, surprised by the voice that snapped behind her. When she saw his face, though, she wasn't the least bit surprised by who she saw.

"Go away." She said, fixing her gaze to the chicken coop again.

Gray gave a low chuckle, and hearing it annoyed her. She felt his gaze on her as she walked towards the coop. "What are you doing?"

"Forgot to feed my chickens."

"It's not every day you wear something like that. Care to turn around?"

His tone was cocky, and it was really pissing her off. Why was she so mad, anyway? They stood in silence for a few seconds before she decided she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of dragging her into his pace. She continued her walk to the chicken coop. _Why is it so far today?_

"Fine, I'll just see for myself." He started taking steps towards her, and stopped when they were directly facing each other.

Claire frowned, because she felt her cheeks beginning to flush. He eyed her from head to toe, and she didn't like the fact that she was feeling like a monkey in a zoo. Gray had been staring for a while now, and he cleared his throat. She didn't seem to notice.

"It's a waste."

She tilted her head to the side, showing her confusion. "Huh?"

"I-I'll feed your chickens for you!" He yelled in frustration. This time, Claire noticed the way he was blushing, and creased her eye brows.

"Are you sure? You look a bit red to me. Maybe you should rest."

She walked towards him, and was about to touch his forehead when he took a step backwards. "I'm… fine," he said, and opened the door to the chicken coop. She hadn't realized they were standing in front of it until now. Claire followed inside.

Inside the coop, the atmosphere was stuffy. Claire watched as Gray gathered the feed from its container. He would know. He'd been in her farm several times. He glanced at her and frowned. "Don't move."

She huffed, folding her arms in defeat and sighed. Awkward silence crept inside the room as the both of them refused to start a conversation. Gray leaned towards the ground and sprinkled the feed into their bins, and when it became full, he moved on to the next one.

"When did you ask Mary?" She asked, breaking the silence.

The sudden question caused him to pause, but he quickly returned to sprinkling the feed. He watched the clucking monsters devour it all. "I didn't."

She frowned, for the third time today. "Then why are you here?"

He stood up, stretching. "I'm here because _she_ asked me."

Claire felt anger rising through her veins. "Why didn't _you_? You go together every year, don't you?" She shook her head frantically when she was aware that she had raised her voice. "She was waiting."

"I didn't want to go." He said. This quieted Claire. Both of them were staring at each other now.

"Why?"

He didn't answer.

Every bin was full of feed by that time, and Gray quietly exited the coop. Reluctantly, she followed after him.

She grunted again. He was walking too fast, and it was hard enough for Claire to walk in heels, so it didn't make it easier when she ran. She yelped, because she stumbled on her own feet and closed her eyes, preparing to trip and ruin Mary's hard work and Gotz's daughter's dress.

Claire squinted as her eyes opened, wondering why she hadn't fallen yet, and when she felt a strong grip on her upper arm, she met with his gaze in surprise.

She hadn't noticed it before, probably because she was busy trying to be mad at him, but he was really handsome today. The tuxedo suited him well, and despite the way his cap failed to present him in a formal manner, it matched perfectly well to show his character. Of course, Claire never thought of him as ugly or anything, in fact, she thought the exact opposite. She just didn't realize it because of the constant feud that happened whenever the two of them even so much as breathe in the same air. However, there was no arguing happening now, and she was free to look at him as anything but a guy whom she always argued with.

"You okay?" His voice snapped Claire back into reality, and felt her cheeks flush again.

She nodded. "Yeah, thanks." They let go, and walked towards the door to her house. This time, it was too near. "Oh, and thanks for feeding them." He nodded.

Upon opening the door, she called out. "Mary, your date's here."

There was a sudden twinkle in her eyes, and she smiled shyly as she met Gray's azure eyes. "Hi, Gray." He waved to her and complimented on her dress. Claire frowned. He didn't even say anything that resembled a compliment towards her ensemble. A sudden knock on her door gave her no time to be angry, though.

"Must be Cliff." Gray guessed.

His guess was right, when Claire opened the door, she was greeted by her date. He would have looked extremely handsome, if not for the huge bruise that exhibited on his face.

"Cliff! What happened to you?" She cried in concern.

He merely laughed it off, glanced at Gray and then to Claire, and said: "I tripped."

* * *

Hahaha, I must seem mean for posting this cliffhanger after a slow update. I'll try to pick up the pace.

**Massu Chan: **Hahahaha, I really love your enthusiasm! Well, I'll make sure that Ann won't be sad during the festival-I hope she won't slap Claire, though. XD

**HMHanah: **Thank you! Here's my update, finally. XD

**xXx Tinkies xXx: **We all love us a good jealousy! But none of that... yet. :) I'll try to update soon.

**StellaAllets: **Ahahaha! I love Gotz, too! I just had to put him in here.

**CliffAnnFC: **It's okay to go mental, then I'd have a partner in crime! XD Thanks for the review.

**xXWaffleLuvaXx: **Thank you! Here it is! 3

Next chapter is in Gray's point of view, look forward to it, please. XD


	10. The Word He Was Looking For

**A/N: **Oh yeah! A fast update, I think? Faster than my latest update, anyway! XD

**DISCLAIMER: **Now, if I owned Harvest Moon, you think I'd be writing fanfics about them? The answer is a big, fat NO.

* * *

Anyone could have heard his griping, had anyone been standing next to the door, ears glued to the cold, smooth surface, with all intentions of eavesdropping on God-knows-whatever stuff was happening on the other side of the said door. Luckily, no one was mischievous enough to do the said deed.

It was the day before the festival, and Gray still hadn't asked anyone. So why wasn't he asking Mary out, like he usually would have done? This event had practically become an unspoken tradition between the two of them for as long as they could remember, so why break it now? What could be holding him back? It was painfully obvious. Written-all-over-his-face obvious.

Well, not to him, anyway.

Truth was, he didn't know. This year had been kind of… different. Somewhere, deep inside, he wanted to ask someone else; a certain… spunky, blonde farmer to the event. _But Mary…_

Surely she wouldn't hold it against him if he didn't ask her out for one lousy year. They weren't dating, anyway. They went together because they were both available at the time. So… what happens when he takes somebody else, then? Who would take Mary?

"Gray?"

Behind him, Cliff materialized from the door. He gently closed it, took a seat on his bed and gave his pillow a soft pat. He watched him curiously, with his eyebrows frowning in the process.

"What's up?" He asked. Gray shrugged in response.

After a moment of awkward silence, they heard a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." The blacksmith volunteered. The mattress creaked after he stood up, lessening the weight on the bed. He turned the knob, and much to his surprise, it was Mary. _Speak, er, thoughts of the devil._

Why? Mary never visited him at the inn. The only times they graced each other with their presence were either inside the library or the blacksmith, and sometimes the square on a few occasions. What was she doing here, clumsily knocking on his door, wearing an unreadable expression on her face?

"Hi, Gray." She smiled. He nodded ineptly to respond. "I… came to… ask you to the festival."

Figures. Seemed like she had nobody else to go with, so how could he possibly refuse? Was this festival so important that she couldn't miss one lousy year of it? _Girls,_ he scoffed._ Mysterious creatures as always._

Shrugging, he asked. "Fine. What time?"

Upon hearing his answer, Mary was practically beaming a smile. Gray merely raised his brow. "Six. Pick me up at Claire's house." He watched her fidget a bit more before deciding to leave.

Claire? Why did she want him to pick him up at _her_ house? He turned to Cliff, searching for an explanation, but all he could give him was a confused shrug himself.

_Will Claire be going to the festival?_ It wasn't like he particularly wanted her to go, just… it might have been amusing to see her in a gown, and every time he saw her she was dressed in dirt and sweat, and he never saw her in anything but that damn overall of hers._ I bet she'd look funny on high heels._ He found himself smiling, or, more accurately, grinning to himself. He was suddenly interested in attending the stupid festival.

"You're smiling." Cliff teased, earning a glare from the blacksmith. "What are you thinking about?"

Cliff had been talking to him a lot, lately. Was his fear of him dissolving? Already? He didn't really consider it a bad thing, but it wasn't good all the same. This meant talking from now on, and he wasn't good with words—unless they were insults. But, he reckoned that since they were living under the same roof, it was worth a shot to try and get along.

"I was thinking… about how Claire would look in a gown."

Evidently, Cliff was surprised by his honesty. And, happy to stumble upon a chance to finally get along with his long-time roommate, a knowing smile curved his lips. "You'll find out tomorrow."

"I guess I would." Gray shrugged for the second time.

Cliff grinned. "She's cute, isn't she?" The blacksmith snapped him a glare.

"No, she isn't."

He received a frown from Cliff, but he ignored him and looked away. Claire wasn't cute at all, but she wasn't ugly either. What could possibly be the word that best described what he thought of her? Weird? Annoying? No… it was something else… but what?

"You know, Gray, you really should be nicer to her." Cliff told him in a serious tone. He sighed and freefell on his back to his bed, with an escaped breath as he hit the mattress. "Claire's been really kind to you, hasn't she?"

She had,—although Gray didn't want to admit it—she _had_ been nothing but nice to him since she moved here. Sure, they fought all the time, but that was nothing serious. They were friendly when it counted. Well, _she_ was, at least. Gray, on the other hand, had been nothing but a jerk to her. Throwing insults at her and trying to brush her away. He tried to avoid other people all his life but this time, it was different.

"I'll try." He admitted.

Cliff grinned, the night had been nothing but surprises for him, and that same night, he fell asleep with that grin adorned on his face.

The festival was hours away, and Gray was smiling an extremely rare, pleading smile. Cliff scowled at him. "I can't, Gray... I have to get ready myself."

"Come on! It's not every day I ask you for a favor."

He glanced at the intimidating guy, who didn't look so intimidating now that he was practically begging with a weird look on his face. But, like Claire, he was a sucker for puppy dog eyes. Heck, what he said was true, anyway. It wasn't everyday he was asked for a favor from him. He sighed. "Alright, Gray. I'll help you pick some flowers for Mary."

"Mary?" He stared at Cliff stupidly.

He watched his eyebrows meet as he frowned. "The flowers _are_ for Mary… right?" He asked with a suspicious look on his face.

Gray eyed him sheepishly. "Uh… no."

"It's for Claire, then?"

His shoulders slumped. "_How_ do you always know?"

Cliff crossed his arms, fingers tapping. "Magic. Now, Gray, you do understand that you're trying to give a bouquet of flowers to a girl you're _not_ taking to the festival, and you'll be _seen_ giving said flowers to said girl by the girl you're _actually_ taking to the festival, right?"

Gray scratched his head. "You lost me at… the beginning."

Annoyed, Cliff gritted his teeth, and through it, he spoke; "Wouldn't Mary feel a little… awkward, being your date, when she sees you giving flowers to Claire, who _isn't _your date?"

He was scratching his head before, but now he was just tugging at them in frustration. "Man, you keep saying girl, flowers, date, girl, date, flowers, date, gi—"

Seriously, did he stumble onto a parallel universe where everything was completely weird? Because Cliff actually shut him up without saying anything.

"Gray, I don't like where this is going." Said man who shut him up told him.

The blacksmith lowered his gaze, Cliff's leather shoes in view. "Can't I just… give them to her while Mary isn't looking? If she sees the flowers, we could always tell her you gave Claire those things."

"Why are you so intent on giving her a bouquet of flowers, anyway?"

Well, that did it. It took thirteen words to get him to fall absolutely speechless. His eyes were left widened and his mouth hanging open. Why, indeed, was he so intent on giving Claire flowers to this particular event? Didn't he find her annoying, weird and short-tempered? She was always, without fail, the one who was at the receiving end of his insults and thrown books at the library, the one who threw his emotions into a wall, shattering them into a mess. He never liked her, the way she would suddenly walk into his life and disorient him in many ways. Gray did things he normally wouldn't do, like talk, freak out, and stalk a girl for crying out loud!

Oh sure, he could go on for hours but still not know what word best described her.

"Dude, you're a real bull, you know? Forget I asked." He was mad. He knew it wasn't Cliff's fault, but hey, he was mad. In any case, he was being really weird today, because Cliff wasn't his usually wimpy self around him, and if there was anything more uncomfortable for him than talking—it was change. He didn't know what to do now because of Cliff's sudden proximity.

What more of the change within himself?

He stomped angrily towards the woods, turning his back on his roommate who told him to wait, but, as expected, he didn't.

He was blushing, so why would he?

Why was he asking himself all of these stupid questions?

The walk through the woods was short. He gazed at the trees, with light making their way through every gap the leaves made from the sky. Gray heard none of Cliff's constant asking of questions, just the birds chirping along in harmony accompanied by the continuous flowing of the river behind Gotz's little cabin. He had to admit, this was relaxing. It had been a while since he felt this way.

His feet led him to the flower bed in Mother's Hill, without even having to maneuver himself. He knew the place by heart, because he took a hike towards the top once a week—which he had been doing the day he decided to live at the inn.

He kneeled down, crouching on one knee, his right arm resting on the other knee. His gaze shifted from flower to flower, each swaying as if dancing with the wind. It was kind of pretty, with all the white and yellow huddled together in asymmetrical motion. He picked one, a smile planted—no pun intended—on his face.

Before he knew it, he'd been picking one after another.

_Darn, it's getting late. I'd better go._ He traveled back towards the inn, seeing as his current get up was unacceptable, because of all the dirt that made their way to his penguin suit. It was going to take a fair amount of time trying to dry clean this baby. It was only a matter of time before he climbed the stairs of the inn, open the door knob and-

He then saw Cliff. He was still there.

He graced himself with an apologetic smile, but Gray made no effort to return it.

"What now? You're giving those flowers to Claire?" He asked.

A familiar shrug. "I dunno yet. I'm thinking about it."

They heaved a sigh; both of them slumped on their respective beds, leaning against the wall in their tuxedos.

"By the way," Gray began. "Who are you taking to the festival again?"

There was a long pause before his roommate decided to answer. "Claire."

What?

Cliff is taking Claire? Since when? Had their relationship progressed this much in the short amount of time she lived here? Rapid thumping sounds could be heard throbbing inside Gray, before he realized that those _sounds_ were actually his heart beating. _Cliff and Claire? Since when?_ Calling him angry was an understatement.

Suddenly, the unexplainable happened.

Cliff fell to the hard wooden floor, his face to the left, but his auburn eyes facing the other way. He rubbed his right cheek, which was swollen. Hell, another understatement would be to call him shocked. Their clashing eyes met as the auburn pair were scared, maybe even slightly miffed, in contrast to the sapphire ones, which was burning in pure wrath. One would bet that only one of the two men knew why the individual was angry—and it wasn't the individual himself.

Why, it almost appeared as if Gray was… jealous. The heavens must have summoned an apocalypse.

"Uh… why did you punch me again?" Cliff asked who was gently rubbing his right cheek. As if _that_ would help ease the pain. Gray was buff, he was weak. Period.

"As if I would know." The blacksmith snapped, leaving Cliff behind as he darted towards the door, unaware of the bouquet of flowers he left behind.

_Damn it,_ he cursed, rampaging towards her farm on the yellow brick paseo. Cliff taking Claire… that was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard! It was as stupid as… as…

_Him_ taking Claire.

He was nearing her farm, and just in time, early, even. The sky was painted a gorgeous indigo color, and the wind was growing colder by the minute. The wooden fence and the red mailbox came into view, indicating the entrance to her farm. He was beginning to feel excited when he heard someone utter an incredibly disgusting grunt. Gray was right next to her house, and if that grunt belonged to a suspicious guy, then she could be in serious trouble. _Better go and check it out._

He found the culprit. A guy? …no. Suspicious? Oh yes.

"That was a weird sound just now." He smirked upon seeing her head turn in surprise, but quickly dissolved into irritation. Claire returned her gaze to the southern part of her farm.

"Go away." She told him, but he knew she didn't mean it.

He chuckled, and she didn't like it, he thought. He was enjoying this. "What are you doing?"

"Forgot to feed my chickens."

He bit his lip to hide his laugh. It was then that Gray noticed she was wearing something… else. "It's not every day you wear something like that. Care to turn around?" He flicked his finger in a circular motion. There was no point, though, because her back was turned. Her reply was to continue walking to the southern part of her farm, so he had no choice but to take matters into his own hands.

"Fine, I'll just see for myself." He quickened his pace to stop in front of her, and then he surveyed her overall appearance.

He didn't expect what he saw, though.

She was wearing a white dress, with thin straps hanging on her exposed shoulders. Her neck was significantly visible, too… and it did wonders to emphasize the simple pearl earrings she was wearing. The fabric hugged her upper torso entirely, but flowed when it went below the waistline. The long, streaming skirt would have flowed with finesse to the ground, but she held it up to prevent it from getting dirty, revealing her small ankles and the silver, toe-hugging sandals that sparkled in the dimly lit sky.

It didn't sparkle as much as her eyes, though.

They were the same sapphire color of his, but they looked so much better on her.

He imagined her feeding some stupid chickens, in that lovely gown, getting dirt and chicken foot prints all over it.

"It's a waste," he muttered.

Claire tilted her head in confusion. "Huh?"

His cheeks were anything but pale. If ever, they were burning red. "I-I'll feed your chickens for you!" She frowned.

Gray felt her come closer. "Are you sure? You look a bit red to me. Maybe you should rest."

He stepped backwards before she had a chance to feel his forehead. The contact would make him crazy—he was sure of it.

"I'm… fine." Surprisingly, they were already in front of the chicken coop, he turned the knob and entered, with Claire following close behind.

_Sure is stuffy in here_, he thought. It was too narrow and small, and they were _alone_. He gathered the feed from the far end corner of them coop. He'd been here several times, so he'd know. He helped Claire on her farm a lot—usually against his will. Flocks of chicken would follow his trail every time he sprinkled the feed to their rightful containers, and pretty soon the spot would be… well, spotless.

"When did you ask Mary?" Claire asked, watching from the other end of the coop, breaking the silence.

He paused. _I asked her?_ He watched the flock consume the newly sprinkled feed in an instant before he had the decency to reply. "I didn't."

She frowned. "Then why are you here?"

He stood erect, irritation painted on his face. "I'm here because _she_ asked _me._"

Her voice turned up to eleven. "Why didn't _you_? You go together every day, don't you?" She shook her head frantically, she was aware of her raised voice, he believed. "She was waiting."

He felt his cheeks burning hot with frustration. There was something about the way she urged him to ask another girl out, which made him quiver in anger. Did she actually _want_ him to hook up with Mary?

"I didn't want to go." He wanted to grin because of the way she shut up, but now wasn't the time. Both their blue eyes met.

"Why?" she asked.

Why, indeed? Gray absolutely hated that question. He didn't know, that's why! That was what he was trying to figure out since yesterday! He never hesitated about asking Mary out before _she _came along. _Why_ did she have to go and break his perfect routine of forging crappy jewelry, avoid people, fight with gramps, take Mary to festival, avoid people and fight with gramps? This girl really was annoying, down to the very last bone!

The bins were full, and there was no time to answer, so they exited the coop, relieved of being free of the stuffiness of the room.

Gray knew he was walking too fast, but he couldn't slow down for her to keep up with him, especially in the shoes she was wearing. He couldn't handle being within close range of the farmer tonight—even though she didn't look like a farmer today. He heard her ceaseless panting caused by trying to keep up with his pace, and he figured it was time to stop being savage and start being a gentleman, so he turned to face her.

Only to find out she was stumbling on her two left feet.

Gray caught her by the upper arm, and let her weight fall on him, making sure to keep his balance intact. The gap between them now was basically zero.

He searched her for any sign of injury, and found none, thank goodness. She was squeezing her eyes shut, while holding on to him tightly. His ears were turning red. Seriously, why is this turning him on?

Their eyes met when she opened hers, and the both of them just sort of… stared at each other. It was then where he realized the word he was looking for. The word that best described her.

Beautiful.

"You okay?" He asked. He must've been hallucinating, but he could've sworn he saw her blush. Claire nodded in response. "Yeah, thanks."

They let go of each other, and took awkward steps toward her house. "Oh, and thanks for feeding them."

Who? Oh. The chickens. Right. He gave her a nod.

Claire opened the door and gestured for him to enter before screaming "Mary, your date's here."

Oh sure, call him 'her date,' why don't you.

Mary immediately ran towards her, smiling that timid but genuine smile of hers and uttered, "hi Gray," as ineptly as she could.

"Hi, you look great." It was true. She didn't have her glasses on, which was always a nice change, because he could see her gentle brown eyes, and most of her face was exposed because her hair was tied up in a pony tail. Her neck wasn't as nice as Claire's, though.

A sudden knock on the door caused the three to jerk backwards.

"Must be Cliff." He guessed.

Sure enough, when Claire opened the door, her 'date' was revealed, in all of his shining glory. Shiny up to his cheeks, anyway.

"Cliff! What happened to you?" he heard her cry in concern.

A laugh escaped his breath, where his eyes met Gray's, and then fell on Claire, and he said: "I tripped."

* * *

No festival yet! XD

**tufted titmouse: **Thank you! XD

**Massu Chan: **Oh dear, pardon me for being cruel... Hah! XD Peace.

**HMhannah: **I'm glad you think so. Please look forward to the next. :D

**skitsophraniac: **Oh? Then what pairing do you like? I'll try to include it. That way everyone's happy. I'm open to suggestions. I love Gotz! ...and I'm going to include Karen, because someone else proposed the idea.

**imabeemee: **Ahahaha, three in one, indeed. Here're three words: You. Are. Awesome! Hahaha! Thank you for the review.

**StellaAllets: **Hahaha, thanks. I'll keep your suggestion in mind. XD


	11. Love Birds Play Cupid

Sorry about the errors in this chapter. I actually finished a more... decent one last week, but I couldn't post it immediately because the site wasn't working. Then, I figured I'd do the next chapter while waiting... so I erased everything from chapter 11 and tried to save it as chapter 12... but the I actually SAVED OVER it! WAAAA! The result: I made this in a hurry, and it wasn't checked for errors.

**A/N:** has finally fixed the site! I can upload the chapter now! Rock on!

**DISCLAIMER: **Nope, doesn't belong to me.

* * *

"I told you, I'm fine." Cliff reassured his date, who was all over him because of the bruise on his cheek. Honestly, there was no need to make a big deal out of it. He was flattered by the attention, though. He smiled as he watched Claire retrieve a few cubes of ice from her refrigerator and wrap it around a cloth. She carefully pressed it on the bruise.

"Really, Cliff. No need to act tough. That fall to the door must've hurt when you tripped." She told him. Did Claire think him a wimp? Sure, he was weaker than most boys but he could still handle a punch or two.

"Seriously. The door was too weak to hurt me." He proclaimed. It was a direct insult to Gray, but the two girls had no idea what they were talking about. Claire still laughed; he figured she thought he was acting tough.

Gray frowned. "Maybe the door held back a little because you're such a wimp." He snapped. Cliff watched the rising anger in the farmer's eyes. She told him to hold the ice for a moment, and then turned to face Gray.

"The guy's hurt, Gray. Give him a break or drop dead." She affronted.

"Why don't you stop butting in, butthead." The blacksmith snarled at her, and instead of cowering in his outburst, she firmly held her ground and shot him a determined glance. They were having a passionate, not in a good way, staring contest.

Because of the atmosphere beginning to tense, Mary interjected. "Okay! Isn't it about time that we go?" She swallowed nervously, and gave a sigh of relief when everyone agreed.

Cliff was clearly amused by the pair's exchange.

The square was decorated with several pink and crimson flowers, especially the entrance. Everything beamed a shade of bluish white because of the fluorescent lights mixed with the natural glow of the moonlight. There was cheerful music playing in the background, setting the perfect festive mood. Cliff scanned the area, and, instead of their usual civilian outfits, they wore elegant gowns and tuxedos, so the people were almost unrecognizable. The women were shinier than usual, and the men were… presentable, to say the least. In short: it was absolutely stunning.

Not as much as Ann, though.

She was surrounded by several kinds of food, and even though she was wolfing down a whole slice of pizza with only a couple of bites, to him, she looked beyond graceful. He felt himself blush when he saw how beautiful she looked wearing a blue, tank-topped cocktail dress. The skirt hung below the knee, exposing her white, open-toed shoes. He swallowed nervously. It was the first time he saw her orange hair down like that, and she looked nothing like the tomboy bartender at the inn he saw often.

"She's cute, isn't she?" Claire teased. He was pretty certain that he said the same thing to a certain blacksmith last night at the inn.

Looking for a change in subject, he glanced at the food table. "Look over there, Claire. They have a buffet." She raised a brow, clearly aware of what he was doing.

"Yeah, right. Like I'm going to fall for—hey! They have pizza! Alright!" She skipped towards the buffet. Literally. The auburn-haired mystery laughed. Claire was really cute, wasn't she?

He turned to the awkward pair behind him. "So," he began. "Does Claire have any idea that every girl here is required to dance?"

Caught in his gaze, Mary bit her lip in shame. "Oh dear," she said. "I… forgot."

Gray laughed maniacally. He stared at Cliff and grinned. "Wasn't it your responsibility as her date?" Cliff frowned. He didn't really think highly of Gray passing the responsibility to him. It was their responsibility as Claire's friends.

"Alright then, I'll break the news to her." Cliff volunteered. He was slightly angry, but it wasn't worth the trouble to argue about it. He took careful steps towards the buffet, and each step closer, his breathing would rapidly increase, because Claire was engaged in a happy conversation with the girl of his dreams.

Cliff called and waved to her, and she cheerfully waved back. "Hey," he smiled at them.

"Hi, Cliff." Both girls said at the same time, which resulted in fits of laughter. Oh come on, it wasn't that funny. It was cute, but it wasn't _that_ funny.

Crimson flushed to his cheek when he felt small hands wrap around his arm. It was Claire's. He grew uneasy by her closeness. "Cliff, I feel a bit dizzy… I think I ate too much pizza." She groaned. "I'm going to take it easy for a while. Do me a favor and keep her company."

No! The reason he asked her to this festival was to avoid awkward moments with Ann in the first place! With her gone and leaving him and… and… _her_… alone… he wouldn't know what to do! "I-I'll go with you!" He whimpered.

To him dismay, Claire blatantly refused. He winced, because her grip on his arm tightened, and she pulled him closer so that her mouth was right next to his ear. "I'm fine. Go have fun." She whispered. Cliff found himself attempting to catch her wrist when she let go, but the farmer was surprisingly fast… or maybe he was just slow. He helplessly watched her walk towards the wooden bench and leave the two of them alone.

There was silence.

Cliff sighed. This was what he was most afraid of. Engaging in a conversation with Ann was hard, if not impossible. He was too nervous and inarticulate to even complete a sentence around her. She had this strange effect on him that when she even as much as looks at him, he gets tongue-tied.

"What happened to your face?" Ann asked suddenly, which made him jump. "Looks like it came from a fist."

"I-it came from a door!" He protested, avoiding her suspicious stare. He had a feeling she didn't believe him. "Honest!"

"Mm." She seemed to accept that. He sighed in relief. "So…" She placed her fists on her waist, frowning. Uh-oh. She seemed pissed. "Mind telling me why you invited the blonde farmer to this festival, when you know perfectly well a certain blue-eyed blacksmith wanted to take her, instead? Do you even like Claire?"

Cliff swallowed nervously. "I… don't really see her that way." He admitted. It wasn't like Claire wasn't beautiful, though. She was one of the nicest girls he had ever met—not that he knew so many—and she was cute, to boot. If he wasn't already head-over-heels with the girl in front of him now, he was pretty sure that at this very moment, he would be absorbed in a fervid rivalry with Gray, and fighting a pathetic losing battle, as well.

"Then why did you ask her?" Her voice snapped him back to reality. Why? Well, he thought it was a good idea at the time. No one was taking her, since Gray took Mary every year; he figured that it was okay. Ann went with her father, anyway.

"I asked her because…" He trailed off. Ann was tapping her high heels frantically. She was growing impatient with all his philandering. "B-because…"

The carrot-topped maiden leaned in closer. "Because?" She urged.

Should he tell her? What would she say? He couldn't believe he was put on the spot like this! Confessing his love wasn't part of the plan, it was never part of the plan! He wanted to wait for the right moment to tell her, that is, when he had gained the confidence he needed to complete the task. His world was going around in circles. His face, no, his whole body was heating up. Why was he so indecisive?

Oh, to hell with it! "I asked her because I like you!"

He heard her gasp in surprise. Who wouldn't, anyway? Of course she didn't expect him liking her. Cliff frowned when he heard chuckles forming in the air, transforming into laughter. "L-let me get this straight," she said in between fits, "you asked Claire out to this dance because you… _like_ me?" She laughed harder.

Okay, why was she laughing? "Why are you laughing?" Red was creeping up his cheeks.

"Why?" She gasped. "Because it was the dumbest thing I have ever heard!"

Ouch. The red propelled from his cheeks to his eyes. It seemed like he finally snapped. "What's so dumb about it? Is it so impossible that you would laugh at the mere mention of it? Are my feelings so weird and unexpected that you wouldn't even consider the idea? Is it so weird for a guy like me to fall in love with a girl like you?"

Slight fear fared to her eyes. Ann didn't expect him to snap like that, he guessed. But he was caught off guard when she smiled. "You said 'love' that time, not 'like.'" She said.

Shit.

He stuffed his hands angrily in his pockets. "W-what's the difference?" Damn, damn, damn!

Good going, Cliff! Way to freak out a girl! Go ahead and tell her you love her, yeah, that would work! He wanted to hit something, anything at all. _Geez_. Gray must have been rubbing off some of his temper on him. Anyway, as far as anything went, his chances of ever getting together with Ann just went down the drain. Because of his anger, he didn't notice her take one step closer towards him, and steal his hands from each pocket.

"Everything." She grinned.

_Everything_ blacked out when she kissed him.

* * *

Claire was sitting on the square's wooden bench with an uninterested posture. She looked especially weird because of the elegant dress she was wearing. Surely they didn't expect her to act like a girl just because she dressed like one, did they? Pouting, she pondered on the idea that every person who attended this festival had brought dates, which meant she had no one to play with.

Man, was she bored.

Carefully, the blonde scanned the townspeople, and her eyes widened when they fell on the spooning couple at one corner of the square.

Cliff and Ann were kissing! Hallelujah!

"Oh yeah! That's what I'm talking about, baby! Lip lock with a passion!" Before she could stop herself, Claire had already screamed, standing up, and she had received suspicious glances from the attendees of the festival. Immediately, she sat down, blushing furiously.

Ann and Cliff took a break from kissing for a moment to give her appreciative nods. She bashfully returned the gesture and smiled at them warmly. Claire felt good about getting them together, although she didn't really do much. She had to hand it to Cliff, Claire thought he wouldn't be able to do it, but boy, was she proved wrong—and happy about it! She was proud of him, gaining courage like that; he deserved a big serving of Tempura in the future.

She glanced at Gray and Mary, who were dancing awkwardly to the swift music. She sighed sadly while shaking her head. It was probably time to play cupid to them, this time. She stood up, and started to take impatient step towards the pair, but someone blocked her path. It was Cliff.

"Um…?" She muttered.

He smiled. "It didn't seem fair to ditch you for another girl when you were the one I came to this festival with." Oh, Cliff. Claire understood perfectly well how long he waited for this moment. She wasn't about to ruin it with his conscience bugging him about her.

"You're sweet, but I'm fine. Besides, Ann's your girlfriend now. It wouldn't be right to ruin all my hard work by making her jealous on your first day." She told him. Cliff blushed at the word 'girlfriend.'

"Really, Claire? _That's_ your lame reason? You're the reason we're together in the first place. I'm pretty sure Ann wouldn't mind one dance between us." Cliff laughed. She liked his laugh. It was refreshing in contrast to his shy personality. But the reason why she liked his laugh was probably because of how rare he did it. She let him take her hand and place it on the back of his neck. He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. The both of them smiled, because the moment they got into that position, the music had changed into a slower one, as if they wanted them to dance.

Unknowingly, Claire began staring at Gray and Mary, who were dancing still. The librarian had him wrap his hand around her waist, imitating their position, and the sight of them so close resulted in a sharp, tugging feeling at the back of Claire's neck. She didn't know why.

Cliff tried to see what had his dance partner occupied and smiled when he saw her staring at the couple in melancholy. He caught her face with his hand, and pulled so that she was facing him. She saw him grin, which scared her a little, because it wasn't his usual grin, but a grin showing mischief. Cliff leaned in closer. "Maybe… it's about time someone played cupid for him, huh?"

Cupid? For Gray? Was Cliff planning on pairing him up with Mary? That's great! It would take a load off of her shoulders if he succeeded. She smiled at him as he excused himself from the dance when the music ended and changed to a faster beat. He let go of her and headed towards his girlfriend. Claire stepped closer, trying to hear bits of what they were talking about, but the both of them were whispering quietly, and she grew curious when they giggled.

Now, she was watching Cliff heading towards the pair. He tapped Mary's shoulder. When the librarian turned around, she revealed the look of annoyance in her face, if not disgust. Clearly she didn't want her precious moment with Gray disturbed. Claire walked closer so she was in earshot.

"May I cut in?" She heard him ask. Gray, Claire and Mary all shot him confused stares.

How the hell was stealing his dance partner playing cupid, Cliff?

Mary reluctantly took his hand, and left Gray dumbfounded and Cliff grinning. Claire stood there baffled by the whole thing, which grew worse when she saw Ann approaching Gray this time, asking him to dance. Okay, seriously? She was so going to skin the couple alive!

Claire saw how Ann pulled him towards her direction, and she had this sudden urge to run away. "Hi, Claire." She said. The blonde reluctantly returned her greeting. "I feel a bit dizzy… I think I ate too much pizza." Ann said as she smiled. "I'm going to take it easy for a while. Do me a favor and keep her company." Those words were awfully familiar.

"What are you doing, you crazy little—" Claire heard him whisper to Ann, who elbowed him on the stomach. He cried out in pain. Both girls couldn't help but laugh. "What the hell was that for?"

"Well then," Ann smiled, ignoring him. "Have fun." And she left, returning to the buffet.

The two of them stared at each other. Okay, she was really annoyed. Claire had thought Cliff meant he was going to play cupid for Gray and _Mary_, not her! Why did they think of trying to hook her up with him, anyway? It wasn't like they liked each other. Was this a prank?

One look at his baby blue eyes made her think it wasn't.

Claire noticed it before, but he looked really cool in his tuxedo. His cap made him look really awkward, but it suited him really well. For a moment, she tried to wash away all the irritated feelings she had and decided to just… go with the flow. She glanced at Ann, who nodded at the DJ, and almost instantly the music had changed to a love song. She sighed.

"Well, we'd better start dancing. We're looking pretty stupid in here." She told him, smiling. Gray gave her an odd look, and he ineptly cleared his throat. She saw him reach for her hand and grinned. His touch was really shy; it was exactly how she expected it would be. He slid his hands around her waist, just like Cliff had, but he didn't pull her close. He cleared his throat again.

This was… surprisingly nice. Claire had thought that a dance with Gray would be annoying, like how they'd fight throughout the song. But this was nothing like that. They were simply swaying with the music.

Maybe there was a reason why Cliff and Ann tried to get them together, maybe there was a reason he didn't ask Mary to the dance that involved her. What if everyone saw the chemistry in them that the two of them tried so hard to ignore? Or maybe… Gray was close to accepting that, but Claire…

No, she promised herself she'd live her life a happy, die-hard single. Boys were out of the question.

And besides, Mary likes the guy. There was no way she'd take that away from her. "Hey," he said, breaking the silence and interrupting her thoughts. Damn, she had got to stop mind babbling.

"Yeah?"

"Where did you get that dress?" He asked.

Claire smiled warmly, remembering the solitary woodcutter in the woods. "I got it from Gotz, this dress was her daughter's. It was a really sweet gesture."

Gray nodded in approval. "It looks cool on you." He blushed. She did the same, and gave her thanks.

Claire stared at the dark blue sky. It was filled with stars, and the moon hung brilliantly with an awesome shine. Everyone's faces, highlighted blue by its light, glowed in a mystifying way. She wondered if it had the same effect on hers. The stars were twinkling like jewelry tonight.

Speaking of stars and jewelry…

"Oh, that reminds me." Claire searched one of her laces, where she attached the necklace she received from him. She handed it to Gray, in all its glory.

"It's the necklace I gave you…" He acknowledged.

Claire nodded. The sapphire, star-shaped pendant rested on her palm. It twinkled brightly, maybe even brighter than the stars in the night sky themselves. Her heart softened, like how it would every single time she stared at it. She couldn't help it. She liked the necklace so much. "Would you?"

"You said you didn't wear jewelry." He said. "You didn't even wear a pair of earrings."

"Just put it on!" She snapped. Gray laughed. It wasn't adorable, like Cliff's, but it was… what was the word… alluring? She tried to hide her blush, and thankfully, it worked. It didn't seem like Gray noticed it when he took the necklace from her palm, and slowly slid his hands to the back of her neck.

Claire expected him to walk behind her to put the necklace on her, but he remained in front of her, which meant that he could see her shy expression while putting on the said jewelry.

* * *

Gray stared at the necklace now resting on her chest. He liked how blue it was, and how it matched her eyes. His hands never dared to let go of the necklace, which meant he had his arms wrapped around the back of her neck. The two of them stared at each other, absorbed in their dance, in their private world, where no one could disturb them.

He smiled at the fact that she was staring at him, too.

A bit of her blonde hair fell out of place, and he slowly tucked them behind her ear. She shivered at his touch, and he bit back another smile. When did this happen? Where his mind was full of this girl, this... blonde farmer who worked so hard by herself, when did the feelings begin to overflow inside him? Her blue eyes, her blonde hair, her pale skin, and how he never saw her as filthy whenever her overalls were covered in dirt. He should have realized it sooner.

"The Spring Goddess Festival…" He said, slipping his hand on her waist, swaying with the music once again.

Claire shot him a confused stare. "Huh?"

"I was wondering if… we could go next year."

The blonde laughed. Damn, he liked her laugh. "That's asking way, _way_ in advance, Gray." He chuckled. Now that he thought about it, it did seem kind of weird to ask her out a year in advance. But hey, Cliff might beat him to it again. Her eyes grew serious. "Why?"

What did she mean, why? Was she asking him why he wanted to take her to the festival next year? "I don't know."

"You don't know." She echoed, looking deep in thought. _Oh no, don't figure it out yet._ He wasn't ready, he had just realized his feelings, after all. Gray would be at a loss if he had to reveal everything now. His heart skipped a beat when she rested her head on his shoulder. "Okay then." She muttered.

Both of their cheeks were flushed in deep crimson, it was the perfect moment, until…

"And now… the moment we've all been waiting for…" The mayor's voice vibrated through a microphone. "The dance of every bachelorette in Mineral Town!" He announce.

What? What dance? Every bachelorette must dance? Then that would have included her! Claire snapped back, removing her resting head from Gray's chest, obvious anger rising in her face. Gray began to cower in fear. "Why didn't anybody tell me?" She yelled.

The blonde farmer rampaged through the yellow bricked paseo, but none were alarmed. In fact, the townspeople merely laughed it off, saying it was cute. Claire reluctantly allowed them to teach her the steps of the dance, and she moved in sync with the other girls.

All's well that ends well, she guessed.

* * *

What did you guys think? It took him eleven whole chapters to finally realize his feelings for Claire! XD Nest chapter is summer! So expect some love from KAI!

**passerby: **You finished in TEN minutes? WOW! Hahaha, his head really is beautiful, isn't it?

**Massu Chan: **Aw, thank you for the sweet review! Yes, we are cruel! Hurray for all the cruel people in the world!

**StellaAllets: **Glad you likey! It's understandable to just love Gray... he's adorable!

**tufted titmouse: **You're so right! I wanted to punch myself for hurting Cliff... but... oh well. XD

**skitsophraniac: **Sorry I paired him with Ann... T_T

**lollipopdiego:** I was surprised you gave consecutive reviews to all of my chapters. My eyes bulged out of their sockets when I checked my mail, earlier! Thank you so much for your reviews, I'll take note on everything you said regarding my writing. And good for you and your boyfriend, and shame on that guy who told you to piss off. :( Thanks again.

**AtYourSide: **It's still CliffxAnn. XD Thank you!

**xXx Tinkies xXx: **No kissy faces yet, I'm afraid. But he's improved, doncha think? XD

**ShelbyTheJedi: **Thank you in advance for the cookie! And thanks for the review! XD


	12. The Flirt Who Appeared in Summer

**A/N: **Finally, after a long time, I was finally able to upload the twelfth chapter. I apologize for taking this long. Feel free to let me know my mistakes. I never checked this for errors.

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harvest Moon. I repeat: I wish I owned Harvest Moon.**

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Summer. The hottest season ever. Literally. In the northern hemisphere, it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox, but here in Mineral Town, it's the season for beaches, ice cream and fun. Teenagers can wear anything they want: from tank tops to ripped jeans. They can get as dirty, not in _that_ way, as they want. Summer—the season for playing—a city girl's time.

For one particular city girl, however, it was _nothing_ like that.

It was the first day of this season, and Claire was working her butt off trying to rid her beloved farm of weeds. Fortunately for the young farmer, she had already finished planting pineapples, corn, and other stuff that a farmer plants in summer.

She sighed. "Damn weeds. I curse you all! Rot in hell!" Furiously pulling the green atrocities, she growled and roughly kicked a few stones. When she finally accepted that she couldn't get the work done today, she stood erect and stretched, bone clicking.

The farmer slumped against her shipping bin, whistled for Flea, and waited for her fur ball canine friend to sit next to her. The dog didn't comply. "Stupid mutt." She croaked. The hot weather didn't do anything to improve her mood.

Claire's thoughts drifted towards the library. Ever since the Spring Goddess festival, things have been weird between her and Mary. Whenever she visited the library, said librarian would suddenly change her expression from plain bored to subtle disgust. What did she do wrong, anyway? It wasn't like she stole her date or anything. It was just one dance. Heck, Ann didn't mind her dancing with her new found boyfriend!

And… Gray. He asked her to the next Spring Goddess festival, what was up with that? They've been spending a lot of time bickering at the mines, lately. The usual insults were present, but there weren't any taken offense, anyhow. They just seemed like two friends who spat over every little thing, and they both liked it that way. Both even stopped throwing books at each other in Mary's library, providing they were a few feet away from the shelves.

Claire watched her horse, Hightail, run around happily. She was jealous over the fact that the stupid, lovable horse didn't have a care in the world. All it did was eat, drink, run around and sleep. She stood up and tried to mount the pony, but seeing as the said pony was still a… well, pony, things didn't work out as well as she thought.

She landed square on her butt with a big, loud _thud._

"O-kay… awkward." An amused voice came from over her shoulder. Claire looked to her farm entrance, and there she saw a guy, slightly tanned, wearing a purple bandana, a white t-shirt and a brown jacket over it, with the sleeves rolled up. She had no idea who this sap was, and who wears a jacket during summer?

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my farm?" She snapped.

He backed off, but he had a grin plastered on his face. "Whoa, easy there, tiger. I just came to introduce myself." She shot him the meanest glance she could have, but his annoying grin was still there. "I heard there was someone who took over this run-down farm, and I just _had _to see who was amazing enough to take it."

Her expression softened, but not enough to wipe the irritation from her face. "You've seen her now."

The stranger held his hand out to her. Claire merely stared at it, still on guard. "I'm Kai, pleased to meet you." Seeing as the blonde didn't take his hand, he pulled it away, although he didn't look as if he was affected at all.

She raised a brow. "Claire. Pleasure."

Laughing, Kai carried on. "If I had known a cute girl such as you took over the farm, then I would have considered an early visit!"

Warning, warning. Major flirt alert.

"I run a little snack shack down at the beach. Noticed the cute little building painted white over there?"

Oh. She scratched her blonde head. That's what it was? "It's open every summer." He continued, "Well, because I'm only here during summer."

"Oh really? Why's that?" She asked.

"Hey! You can talk without hostility!" He yelled. Claire glared at him. _I'll show him hostility, _she thought. "Anyway, summer's my favorite season, and it's the only season I wanna be in, so every time summer ends, I move someplace else."

"Some place where it's summer, right?" She asked. Claire found him interesting. It must be nice to be able to travel. "If summer ends in the north, you go to the south?"

"Bingo! Ding-ding-ding! You are the winner!" He raised his right hand, doing a poor imitation of a weird game show host. She couldn't help but laugh. Kai stopped chuckling, but the confident grin never left his face. "Hey, you're cute when you smile."

Immediately, she scowled at him. Geez, this guy was already making himself comfortable with her presence. "Go shoot yourself."

He merely laughed. He certainly was a lively person, wasn't he?

"If you have the time, come and visit my shack. I give discount to pretty girls." He winked at her, and she smiled, surprisingly. Claire watched him leave her farm. Kai, huh?

Interesting.

The inn was its usual, quiet self—except at night, of course. When the sun sets, the place becomes a club, where people drink and go crazy. She hadn't visited at night before, and she figured she'd try this summer. It was in the middle in the afternoon, not much to see in here, except Ann and Cliff.

Claire almost hurled with how cute they looked together. They were still so shy around each other, so one couldn't help but go 'aww' in their sweetness. But Claire would never do that. Claire hated anything mushy.

"Hey." She waved to the couple. Cliff beamed, and Ann was practically glowing. They waved back and gestured for her to sit down on one of the tables. "You guys look happy." The farmer stated.

Cliff blushed, and the bartender merely laughed. "You have no idea. What'll you have?" Ann asked. She was already behind the counter, prepared to yell Claire's order at her dad.

"Boxed lunch. Hey, listen to this," Claire waited for Ann to finish processing her order before she continued. "Some weird guy visited my farm a while ago. He said his name was Kai."

"Kai? Say no more." Cliff interjected, holding out his hand in front of Claire's face. "The moment he heard a girl took over the farm, he rushed towards it in a heartbeat."

Both girls laughed. "You know him?" Claire leaned on her chair.

Ann swooned. "He's only the hottest, hard-to-get hunk of—"

An intense glare from Cliff cut her short, causing the farmer to bite back a smile, and Ann to nervously clear her throat. "He told me to visit his snack shack at the beach." Claire said.

"Why don't you go? Who knows, he might steal a kiss or two." The bartender urged, and then she received a glare from Claire. It looked like this Kai fellow was a real lady killer. It was probably safe to hang out with him. Why? Because lady killers never look for a serious relationship, and a serious relationship was the last thing she needed.

"Get real. We've only known each other for a few minutes." She said. The couple burst in snickers, which made the farmer frown and tilt her head in bewilderment. "What? What's up?"

"When Kai first moved here, he tried to put the moves on every girl in Mineral Town… even the married ones." Ann revealed. "Every male here wants to kill him."

Claire didn't have a hard time believing that.

When Cliff excused himself from the conversation, telling both girls that he had to go to church, Ann thought it the perfect moment for girl talk.

"So… what's up with you and Gray, lately?" Ann asked while wiping the bar counter. Claire removed herself from the table to sit near her. She rested her elbows on the said counter.

"You mean how we don't hate each other's guts nowadays?"

Her friend nodded. Claire shifted in her seat. "Well, we became friends when he apologized to me last spring for calling me names. I accepted, and since then he's been giving me pointers in mining and helping me out at the farm… through blackmail." Ann shuddered when she saw the evil smile planted on the farmer's lips, but her eyes widened suddenly.

"Whoa. Back up." The bartender coughed. "He _apologized_? We're talking about Gray, here, right? You know, the grumpy guy who works as Saibara's apprentice?"

Claire laughed at her friend's skepticism. "Couldn't believe it myself." She asked for a cup of water, and Ann poured her some in an instant. She gave her orange-haired friend an appreciative nod and took a careful sip from the glass.

"Claire, have you ever considered the possibility that he might actually… like you?" Ann asked. Suddenly, Ann found her face doused with water, the disgusting part was where it came from: Claire's mouth. "What the hell, Claire?" She screamed, and wiped herself with a towel she retrieved under the counter.

The farmer wiped her mouth with her checkered sleeve. "Sorry, it's just… I thought I heard you saw something utterly ridiculous and terribly nauseating." Claire gritted her teeth. "You said that you think Gray _likes_ me?"

Ann nodded.

"Maybe we should have your brain checked for serious abnormalities."

"I'm serious, Claire. He doesn't talk to anybody much, but with you… he forms complete sentences, and the chemistry you had when you danced. So, I thought… maybe…"

The blonde laughed. "It's all in your head."

The bartender shrugged. "If you say so." She returned to wiping the bar counter, and Claire sighed. What was the world coming to? Gray and… her? Not happening. She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "You okay?" Ann touched her shoulder, a look of concern planted on her face.

"I'm fine." She reassured her. "Nothing so serious that a bit of rest can't cure."

The inn's wooden doors swung wide open with potent force, and revealed the weird man who popped by her farm just a while ago. Claire's sapphire eyes grew wide open, and the sight of her made the bandana-wearing man grin.

"It's the weird guy back at my farm!"

"It's the cute new girl who took over the farm!" Both of them said at the same time, although Kai's face was void of the maddened expression present in Claire's.

She remained fazed, but he merely gagged in laughter. Kai took a seat beside her. "I forgot something up in my room… but it's not like anyone's coming or anything."

"No customers?" Claire asked. He sighed, and gave a slight nod. "Can I come?"

Immediately, his hazel eyes lit up, abruptly rising from his seat and running upstairs. He yelled at her to wait for him. Claire snickered viciously.

"Is he exaggerating when he said nobody's coming?" The farmer asked Ann, who simply smiled.

"Nope. Nobody visits his shop, expect maybe Gray and Popuri." She coughed. "You don't have to think twice about Popuri, she's out to get the guy—romantically." Claire snorted, and slumped her elbows on the bar counter. Ann poured her another glass of water, which Claire gratefully took a sip from.

"I feel kind of bad for him." The blonde admitted. "I wonder what his shop looks like."

Kai descended from the stairs. "You'll find out soon enough."

The sound of the waves crashing into the pier reminded Claire of the beaches in the city. She gazed at the unsteady horizon of the ocean, and confirmed that this place was by far the best she's ever seen. Where she was from, shorelines were filled with trash, dead fish, and the water was tinted gray instead of blue. Claire removed her shoes, and let the sand slide in between her toes. She smiled.

"Feels great, doesn't it?" Kai gave a knowing smile. Claire simply nodded. "I dig the salty smell of the ocean air, and the seagulls flapping in the wind. The beach in Mineral Town has got to be the best."

Claire looked at him, and she wondered if the words that came out of his mouth just now were sincere. Kai pointed happily to the white shack sitting at the far left corner of the beach.

Ah. He loved this place so much he built a shack on its beach.

"Cute place." Claire admitted.

"Ain't it, though?" He said, smiling. Claire watched as he fiddled in his pockets, searching for what she would assume as his keys. She let her shoulders rest on the exterior white walls of his shack and crossed her arms. When he found them, he opened the door and stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter.

"Welcome to Kai's Beach House, home of the finest cuisine all over the world, made by the greatest chef in all time." Kai did his best to say it with the most majestic voice he could, but Claire's ragged snickering failed him.

There were tables, of course, and a counter on the far end of the room, dividing his space from the customers. Claire figured that since it was Kai who handled the place, it would have a rambunctious atmosphere, where music was pounding our ears, noisy chattering in the background. But she was absolutely mistaken. Kai had the semblance of being a snarky, promiscuous guy. But maybe there was more to him that met the eye.

To Kai's relief, she ignored the fact that the place was lacking in customers.

Claire watched as he took his place behind the counter, putting on a green apron that clashed with his purple bandana. She snickered, and he couldn't help but ask. "What's so funny?"

Her expression turned blank. "Nothing, so…" She said, and Claire picked up the menu resting on the table. "What delicacy, as you claim, can you offer me, greatest chef of all time? This better be good."

Kai laughed. She liked the way his eyes would shrink whenever he laughed. "It's a hot day. I was thinking maybe… a bit of ice will cool you off."

"Hm," Claire let her gaze wander around the shack. She noticed several bottles of wine behind Kai, who was preparing her treat with a grin planted on his face. Stirring noises and ice scraping filled her ears.

"Ta-da!" Kai placed the dish on her table, his hands out in the open. "Cool off with one of my snow cones!"

A couple of rolling eyes met him, and he frowned, feigning a hurt expression. "Really, Kai? A snow cone? Do you intend to feed the townspeople here the little stuff you find in the city?" Claire told him.

"Judging from the fact that you know about this… then you're from the city, too?"

She nodded.

Kai slapped his cheek, but his hand remained there. He was smiling like there was no tomorrow. "I should have known, really. You're spunky attitude, not knowing how to ride a horse, not minding my casual flirtations…" He trailed off, rubbing his chin as if recalling something.

The farmer eyed the dish in front of her. Claire held it in her hand and examined it carefully, leveling it with her eyes. The glass tilted but the shaved ice didn't, and it was coated with a pink, syrupy stuff—probably maple.

"I'd hardly call what you did 'flirting.'" She told him, dropping the dessert to the table. Claire scooped up a spoonful of the stuff and dangled it in front of her. "…and that horse is still a pony."

Kai laughed nervously as she stuffed the spoon in her mouth. Claire let the ice melt inside and slide in her tongue. She let herself savor the sensation forming on her taste buds. Claire didn't hate the feeling of little butterflies fluttering in her stomach, tickling her fancy. She grinned, but forced herself to maintain a stoic expression.

"Not bad." She told him.

Kai smirked. "I saw that grin, you know."

"What grin?"

"The one you had when you ate the first spoonful."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The tanned cook placed his fists on his waist, and frowned at her. "Just admit that it's the best snow cone you've tasted."

"It's the best snow cone I've ever tasted." She repeated. "Out of one I've ever had."

And they both laughed.

"Seriously? But you're from the city. How could you not have tasted a snow cone?" He asked. Kai had the tone that said he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Claire merely shrugged, and continued to devour the rest of the dessert.

"I guess… I never had the time to buy myself stuff like these. It was always 'work this, work that.'" Claire revealed. It was true, anyway. People from where she was always expected Claire to work nonstop, with little monetary sanctions. Here in Mineral Town, she could work, work and work, and everything that fruit from her hard efforts would all return to her, not to anyone, but to her alone.

Kai took a seat across her. "You know, if we went out, you'd be swimming in stuff like these." He smiled. Claire did, too. She liked the way Kai would casually come on to her. It wasn't serious, she knew that, and that was probably the main reason she could flirt back.

"If we went out, then you'd cook for me for free?" She asked.

"I don't know about that, though." He scratched his head.

Claire laughed. It's been a while since she's had this much fun. His outgoing personality was a refreshing change from all the uptight men here in Mineral Town. Cliff was too awkward, and Gray was just…

Kai's doors swung open, and a man emerged from the entrance. Speak of the devil. "I see you've met Kai." He told Claire.

"Yes, and I like him already." Beamed the farmer. Her smiling eyes met his suspicious ones.

Gray took a seat from the table behind her. "Is that so?" He stated matter-of-factly, and nodded to Kai. The tanned boy took that as a hint to start his order.

The fresh scent of corn covered the entire room. His customers, consisting only of two people, couldn't help but let their mouths water. Kai handed Gray the baked corn, and the apprentice happily indulged in his penchant desire for the dish. The grub was devoured in an instant.

"The best. As usual." He told Kai.

The cook smiled. "Of course."

"So," Claire said. "How come you only get a few customers, Kai? It's not the food, I know. These are awesome."

The two boys exchanged a perplexed look. Kai appeared demented and unsure of what response to give. He cleared his throat and spoke. "I'm not exactly mister popular in this town."

Claire nodded. "So I've heard."

"Except the girls and Gray, of course. And you, admit it." He bobbed his eyebrows up and down.

The farmer couldn't sustain her laugh, "I admit."

"The guys turn green with envy whenever they see their women fawning over him." Gray explained. Claire nodded, indicating that she understood. Ann and Cliff mentioned something like this before, too.

"What is up with men and their pride?" Claire rolled her eyes, and Gray looked away. "I mean, it's no big deal. They were probably just talking to you, right?"

They stayed silent.

"Right…" Claire asked again, but her tone had a hint of warning in it. She crossed her arms suspiciously.

Both men swallowed nervously.

"Don't tell me…" Her eyes narrowed even further. "…you were flirting?"

Only Gray nodded. This time, Claire's eyes widened in disbelief. She buried her face in her hands and shook her head. Kai stared at the ground. The farmer and the apprentice both saw the hidden smile that formed along his lips.

In a few minutes, all three of them laughed.

"N-no way," Claire said in between giggles, "You were coming on to _every_ female in Mineral Town? Even the married ones? It's a miracle you're still alive!"

* * *

**A/N: **I wanted to just introduce Kai in this chapter, and I wanted to portray him as the flirt he really is. A lovable one. I hope I succeeded.

**Lessly imabeemee: **Ah, yes. The errors. Sorry about that. Lately I've developed a habit of uploading them just after finishing them. I would later on find out that I have errors when the story is already posted. Thanks for pointing it out. XD And yep. Almost a fully romantic moment. Too bad.

**Skitsophraniac: **Thank you for the support. XD

**Massu Chan: **I'm always amazed by how you review with so much enthusiasm. I should learn from you. Haha, Cliff ain't no wimp, Gray is. As always, thank you very much.

**dannt: **I know right? Here's Kai. Hope I did him justice.

**lollipopdiego: **Oh, sorry about that. Then, good for you and your BESTESTFRIENDEVER! Hahahaha! Thank you for this review! *Hugs*

**kuubie: **Ain't it? I'm glad you see my point! XD Thank you!

**xXx Tinkies xXx: **As always, thank you very much!

**AtYourSide: **Hahaha, poor Claire, indeed. Thanks. XD

Thanks guys, so much. I really love getting reviews from you. I 3 you all!


	13. Who Are You Writing For?

**A/N: **Thanks so much to **Emo Cowboy** for all the help. XD Seriously, I'm really grateful. :D

**DISCLAIMER:** Nope. Don't own it.

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Claire didn't know why, but she was at the supermarket grocery shopping on a Friday. With Kai. Rephrase: With _only_ Kai. The guy was slightly decent, and only slightly because of his philandering ways. Besides, this wasn't what Claire planned on happening first thing in the morning. Who in his right mind would barge in on her domain at six in the morning, anyway?

Gray, of course. He has the brain of an overdosed monkey, but never mind him.

"Hey, check this out." Kai picked up a can of what Claire would think to be a pineapple juice. Honestly, it really wasn't that much of a 'check-it-out' product. "Best. Fruit. Ever. Don't you think?" Grinning, he held it to her face.

The blonde rolled her eyes, and swatted the can away. A snort escaped her nose, not bothering to hide her irritation. "I really don't care." She told him, and smirked slightly when he jumped back in absolute horror.

"You're crazy! Who doesn't like pineapples?" He screamed. Claire's ears, like her temper, were on the brink of an explosion. "They're like, the bomb!" Bomb… explode. _Heh._

_Why is he talking to me?_ Inside her head, there were arguments on whether purchasing more corn seeds were a practical idea or a dumb one. "Quiet. I'm trying to concentrate."

"Who peed on your side of the bed, lady?"

Was he honestly asking her what got her miffed? Seriously?

She couldn't help but roll her heavy, sleep-deprived blue eyes. "A fantastic idiot, who banged on my door at six am, screaming 'let's go to the supermarket, Claire' and dragged me all the way here without giving me a chance to bathe or even wash my face. _That's_ who 'peed on my side of the bed,' Kai."

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry. I wanted to buy a few things, and you told me you never had time to buy groceries, anyway. It's a win-win situation, right?" The summer-loving guy bravely put his arm on a walking time bomb. Claire was just about to prepare balling her fist when she saw Kai's expression.

He was like a monkey who had just discovered a whole treasure trove of bananas. In his case—a treasure trove of pineapples.

Claire turned to follow his gaze, and released an all too knowing smile when she saw the shopkeeper's daughter, Karen.

A golden treasure called 'Karen.' She should've seen it coming.

He was grinning like he was swimming in a sea of… something he would enjoy. "Excuse me, Claire. I have this sudden urge to converse with a really hot babe."

"What does that make me, then?" Claire mumbled, mainly to herself, while tilting a jar of oil in her hands.

"Hey, hot stuff. What's a girl like you doing in a boring place like this?" She heard him say. _Great start, Kai._

"Why are you talking to me?" Karen asked. _I know, right?_ The shopkeeper was imperviously ignoring all of his charms, and Claire found herself interested in watching their scene play, hoping the ending would be a tragedy for Kai.

"Okay, so you don't like the forward approach. Want me to quote Confusion?" Confidently, he leaned against the counter, bobbing his brows up and down in what he hoped to be a seductive manner.

Karen sighed. "That's _Confucius,_ smooth poet, and I quote: 'take your beach-crazy ass out of here before I drown you."

Claire's new hero, that's what Karen had become.

Carrying a stoic face, Kai slowly returned to Claire's side, uttering nothing. "Struck out on the first try, huh?" She asked, failing to hide the grin upon seeing him cringe at her words.

"Nah. She's playing hard-to-get. I'm positive." His usual grin found its way back to his tanned face. _Can you believe this guy? _

"I'm positive she's not playing, Kai."

"You bet your farm, I'm not playing." Karen shouted over Claire's shoulder. "This 'hot stuff' is living her life a super splendid single, triple S." She rested her chin on her palms, elbows on the counter.

Claire turned to face her, ignoring the idiot behind her. "Exactly. Who wants to be in a relationship, anyway?" She said, placing her basket of selected goods on the counter.

With an amused look, Karen took one by one the stuff in the basket, noting everything for its price. "I agree. You're not bound by pointless rules like, 'don't talk to other guys,' or 'don't wear things that are above the knee.'"

"I'd never stop you from wearing something really above the knee, Karen." Kai interjected. Both girls shooed him away at the same time. They exchanged looks and laughed.

"Claire, right? We should hang out sometime." Karen told her.

Claire smiled warmly. She never really took the time to get to know Karen, never even so much as tried. Claire had always thought that she was a bit of a snob, but it wasn't like she'd tell someone to piss off or anything. Claire had the impression that Karen chose her friends, and maybe this was true, but it was nice to know that a farm girl like her was chosen.

"That'd be really awesome." She admitted. When her purchases had been bagged and ready to go, Claire took them into her hands and started to walk out the door, but Kai's voice halted her footsteps, and she and Karen sighed.

"What about me? I want to hang out, too!" Kai yelled as he followed Claire to the door. It was unnecessary for him to do that, because of the size of the store, but he felt it compelling to do so, anyway, much to both girls' dismay.

"Do you really need to hear my opinion about 'hanging out,' Kai?" Karen asked, ready to lunge at him.

The farmer grinned and tugged on Kai's brown sleeve. "Let's go, Kai. Wouldn't want to be 'hanged,' now, would we?" After waving goodbye to Karen, she pulled the flirt outside of the supermarket.

Upon walking, her eyes found themselves staring at the library in utmost melancholy. The grip on her grocery bags tightened, but she quickly loosened them in hopes that Kai wouldn't notice. Unfortunately…

"I want to check inside the library." He childishly declared.

Claire eyed him suspiciously. "You don't seem the reading type."

Kai merely shrugged, trying to push her towards the designated place. The farmer didn't stop him, though. She wanted to try and patch things up with the librarian as soon as possible, but the only problem was if the said librarian felt the same way. "Sure I am. I'm a smooth poet, aren't I?" Claire laughed upon recalling Karen's words.

"I'm warning you, though. She's taken."

"That hasn't stopped me before." He claimed. It was true, anyway. Every girl in Mineral Town had been hit on by this Casanova. Claire wondered if he tried to hit on Ellen, as well. Would he?

…Nah.

Kai continued to pull her into the quaint little building in front of them. Claire swallowed nervously as she watched him turn the knob, revealing the familiar room she always visited back in those days when she would sit with Gray at a table, Mary observing quietly behind her desk, and entirely flip her wig whenever the Gray and Claire would start another of their furious battles.

Those days, she missed very much.

As soon as the blonde entered, an annoyed snort echoed through the book-filled room. Claire felt her chest tighten. This wasn't going to be easy.

"What's up, Mary?" She greeted.

Mary's reply fit that of the library's rule: silence.

Claire awkwardly swallowed the big lump that formed in her throat. It was in her best interest to stay out of Mary's bad side. Hell, she was already in that so-called side, she just didn't want it to be worse. "Mind if I… read a book?"

"Of course not. It's a library." She answered.

Mary was a nice person. Claire knew this better than anyone else because the others never dared to look beyond her shy girl image. The farmer held the librarian's current attitude towards her as justifiable. Of course, Mary had been in love with Gray since… forever. Even before she got here, and that will always be impossible to change. One mistake in love can always change a person. Claire knew it had.

That's why… she couldn't ever blame Mary for their fight.

"That girl is the real deal, you know." Kai whispered in Claire's ear. She shivered. Claire was ticklish, after all. Her round eyes blinked in confusion and flexed her head to face him.

"What?" They took quiet footsteps towards one section of the library, and Claire inadvertently let her fingers trail the sea of books on the wooden shelves.

"She's… really hard to get."

"And you think you can get Karen?"

He placed his fists on his waist, bearing his chest and standing proud. "Of course I can!" He said confidently, but soon after his shoulders slumped. "…if I try really hard."

"_Really_ hard." She emphasized.

"Whatever. But her…" Kai cocked his head towards the subject of their conversation, and immediately returned to facing the farmer again to avoid gaining the librarian's attention. "No matter how hard I try, she'll never fall for me."

True. "That's because she already has someone she likes."

"I never knew that."

"Stop trying to flirt with her for once, and be her friend. _Then_ maybe she'll tell you things." Claire told him in an annoyed tone. Friends, huh? Did Mary still consider her one?

Always, _always,_ had Mary been a great friend to Claire. She was always so understanding, so patient and sweet. Even though she was jealous, not once had she considered breaking off their friendship.

Except now.

Claire knew it wasn't her own fault. It was Ann and Cliff who ruined their date, but they weren't to blame too, she supposed. In a way, they did it for Claire, and only wanted to show their support. Mary had been looking forward to the festival, and who goes ahead and steals her date?

The fault probably belonged to Gray and Claire. He was in the wrong because he never tried to stop the couple from tearing him from Mary, and he never returned to her afterwards. She was in the wrong because… she _knew_ it was wrong, but she went with it anyway.

"I'm going to try!" His sudden outburst snapped her back to reality. Kai's voice was relatively loud for a library, and out of reflex, both girls put a finger to their mouths and attempted to quiet down the unruly fellow.

Claire frowned. "What are you going to try?"

"Being her friend, then make her fall for me."

What?

Kai must've noticed her expression, which seemed bewildered at his statement, and grinned. "You don't think I can do it?"

The farmer frantically shook her head. "You're the one who said it was impossible. Give it up."

"Nu-uh. I never said it was impossible. I only said that no matter how hard I try, she'll never fall for me." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. He watched Claire take a seat on one of the chairs and lean back, nose stuffed in a book. He quickly followed and pulled a chair. "So… I won't try at all! I'm just going to sit back, relax, and be her best friend ever."

He sounded so confident that she almost believed he could make it happen.

"Not happening." She said, contradicting her own thoughts. "Anyway, I have to go. My animals haven't been fed yet… and my crops aren't watered, thanks to you."

They waved to each other their goodbyes, and went their own ways.

xXx

"_I can't believe you, Claire!" Mary screamed, gripping hard on the soft fabric dangling on her waistline. She ignored the upbeat vibrations seeping to her feet as the music played. Everyone was dancing. She was shivering._

_She was faced with confused blue eyes, and her hazel ones filled with frustration. "W-what? What did I do?" The blonde innocently asked. Mary couldn't believe she didn't know._

"_You… you told me…" Glassy-eyed, she felt her cheeks burning. Strands of ebony dangled softly in front of her eyes, tickling her pastel colored skin. Her eyes were hot from the tears threatening to fall. Mary couldn't. She couldn't let him see her like this. "You told me that… you didn't need a boy to have a good time!"_

_She wasn't always like this. Her parents had always taught her to be kind and polite. Think about the feelings of others. What would the neighbors think, Anna—her mother—would usually say. Throughout her quiet life, all she wanted was to be immersed in the places that the papers bounded in covers would take her to. Mary loved reading, obviously, and she was smart enough to differentiate fantasy from reality._

_Deep down, she knew that there was a possibility that everything will fall apart._

"_It wasn't me, Mary. Ann and Cliff did that on their own." Claire explained. Her voice had that hint of desperation in it. "Hell, I was prepared to play cupid for the both of you, but Cliff—"_

"_I've heard enough." Apparently it hurt her deeply to think that people preferred Claire for Gray instead of herself. "I'm going home."_

_Mary opted to leave, but she felt rough, farm hands grab on to her wrist. "No. You're staying. I'm the one who's leaving." She heard Claire say. This time, instead of desperation, there was clear resolve in her voice. Her hold on Mary tightened, and she stared at the ground._

_Claire's grim expression contrasted with the upbeat music._

_After a few minutes, she spoke. "I will never…" Claire said, looking up. Mary saw the shadow her face formed due to the moving lights behind her. It was hard to see her expression because of the constant flashing of the neon flares behind Claire that blinded her. The farmer's face would be tinted blue, then red, then green, rinse and repeat. "…ever, be a third wheel."_

_She let her go, and walked home._

_Mary watched her back as she left, white silk flowing as she bounced on her heels. Little sparkles escaped her dress in the darkness._

xXx

It was a lovely afternoon, and Mary had the library all to herself. The change was definitely a pleasant one seeing as she didn't have to deal with being awkward around her friends. Especially the blonde one on the farm.

Silence, as usual, fared the entirety of the room. Books were her only refuge from that awful night. A depressed sigh failed to contain itself from the girl's lips, and her face slumped to the cold surface of the mahogany desk, ruffling the page of her book with her nose.

Why was she feeling so… frustrated?

Technically, the events during that night weren't Claire's fault. Gray _wanted_ to go to her. If he didn't, then he would've stopped Ann from pulling him towards Claire.

And… the smile he had when they danced…

Mary couldn't accept it.

Every time she saw her blonde hair, images of his calloused fingers entangling yellow strands would flash through her mind. Whenever she heard her voice, she'd remember how his ears would perk up at the sound of it, as if her voice was a favorite song he was waiting to hear on the radio.

Her blue eyes reminded Mary of his, too, and every time she saw them, a nail pounded its way into her heart.

The doors opened, and out of reflex, she stood up, plastering a fake smile on her face.

"Hiya!" The man screamed, earning a glare from the librarian. He scratched his bandana-covered head. "Sorry about that."

Kai. What did he want now?

She watched as the confident man pulled a seat down the nearest table to her desk. He smiled, and she gave one in return. Maybe if she remained quiet he'd go away.

"So," he began, shifting in his seat to face her. "What are you doing?"

"Writing." She replied.

"Writing what?"

"A… novel."

He smiled. "Can I see?"

Nobody had ever asked to read her novels before. She wanted it to stay that way. "I'm afraid… that it's not quite finished yet."

Kai rested his chin on his palm. "So… if it's finished you'd show me?"

For some unknown reason, she was a bit taken aback by his question. Mary hadn't thought about showing her manuscripts to anyone yet. She wanted to show it to Gray but it felt like something was lacking in her writing style. Everything had to be perfect. "I… suppose."

"Great! Hurry it up, then." He urged.

Mary shrugged, sitting erect and continuing her story. Soft scribbles sounded in the air.

"Are you writing that for someone?"

…What?

"Pardon?"

"I said:" He repeated, only louder this time. "Are you writing that for someone?"

"I'm writing for myself." Mary claimed. She heard him scoff, and frowned. Her head turned to face him, eyes burning with irritation. "What? Is there something wrong with that?"

"Don't people write books because they want people to read them?" He asked such a stupid question.

"Of course. It would be pointless if no one read them." She uttered a sigh.

Kai stood up, walked towards her while pulling his chair. He made a lot of noise while doing it, too, so of course she was annoyed. A grin spread across his face while he took a seat right in front of her, his chest facing the backrest of the chair. "Then, who are you writing that novel for?"

Her hazel eyes widened. Who was she writing this novel for? Didn't she write because she wanted to express her creativity in words? It felt like she made this for herself. Why did he insist on the idea that she was doing this for someone?

"Okay then, let me change the question," he hugged the backrest of the chair, leaning forward, causing the front legs to rise from the floor as he did so. "How many of these books have you read?"

"Why, everything, of course."

"Whoa! Seriously?" Why did he seem so amazed? It was only natural for her to have read everything in here. She had taken care of this place since… forever. "Don't you have, like, genres you prefer? Then again, there has to be a certain type you hate, right?"

She looked at him. He was seriously asking her these questions, wasn't he? "I suppose there is a certain type I don't like, but I read them anyway."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"Every book has a story to tell, don't you think? I feel like I'm betraying myself by letting it go to waste. Every author wants their stories heard, so I read them, and find myself sucked into its world, even if it was originally a genre I dislike. Eventually, I would find myself liking it to a huge extent." Mary tried to explain in great detail, but she feared words weren't enough to express how she felt on the matter. She found herself smiling.

"Then, an author writes, thinking someone will eventually read them, huh?"

_He… he's right._ It would be far too lonely if her story were left untold. Mary held her gaze towards the smiling man in front of her. Was Kai always this… inspiring?

"I… I'm writing this… with someone in mind." She finally admitted. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Laughter echoed in the room. Mary didn't want to admit it, but she found it refreshing. She even forgot to scold him for being noisy in the library. "Really? What's it about?"

Mary smiled, preparing herself for a long storytelling session with Kai.

xXx

Claire watched the little beads of sweat that trickled from her chin be absorbed by the rich soil of her farm. Her vision nothing but her hands resting on her knees, covered in filth. Claire didn't know why she was trembling. There was nothing wrong with the way she was eating.

Although she hadn't been getting too much sleep, lately.

The whole feud with Mary had affected her so much, so she was under a lot of mental pressure, not to mention her workaholic ways… it felt like her body was going to give in at any moment now.

_After watering the crops… I'll go straight to bed._ She promised herself. Her crops were almost done being watered, anyway, and if she did any more she was certain that she'd pass out. Besides, the bed was practically calling her.

She began limping towards her house, eager to get away from everything, when Ann came running towards her in a state of panic.

"Claire!" She yelled; voice clearly distraught with fear. "Dad fainted! Please, take care of the inn for awhile! Just until I make sure he's okay!"

Doug? Doug fainted? "Calm down, Ann." Claire told her, slowly rubbing her back in an attempt to steady her breathing. It worked a little, seeing as her friend diminished the way she gasped for air. "Where is he now?" The farmer asked with dominance.

"Cliff… he—he took him to the doctor. I-I don't know what to do… he just fainted." Claire watched as Ann tugged on her orange braid with frustration. Tears were streaming down her cheek, which, of course, won Claire over. Her second weakness next to the puppy dog eyes were a crying face.

"Okay. Run to the clinic. I'm going straight to the inn." Claire instructed and Ann eagerly nodded. She seemed grateful being told what to do, since she had no idea a while ago. The farmer put her hand on the crying girl's shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. "Everything will be fine."

Ann smiled, eyebrows creased in worry and cheeks wet with tears, and then she left Claire's farm in a swift motion. Claire let her gaze follow her and saw the girl stumble a bit after leaving, then entered her home to freshen up and immediately run to the inn.

* * *

Hmhmhmhm...

**Massu Chan: **I wonder if your questions have been answered after reading this chapter? XD Thanks a lot for the cute review. It made my day, as well. XD

**AtYourSide: **I don't mind the spamming. In fact. I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT!

**xXx Tinkies xXx: **Hahaha, I'm really sensing a pattern, here. Anyway. Thanks a lot! XD

**Redmia24: **I'm so glad you like it! Thank you!

**Reina19: **Ah, hahaha. Thank you so much!

**tuftedtitmouse: **Oh yeah. Rock on. XD

**lollipopdiego: **KAI AND SASHA? OMG! And... actually, I haven't eaten a snow cone myself. XD

**Emo Cowboy: **Ohohohoho. I suppose you've heard this about a million times now, but I'll say it again: Thank you so much!

**dannt: **LOL. I know, right?

**xLazyXChibix: **Maybe it's because I love Kai, as well? Hahaha, he's one of my favorite bachelors, but Gray is my number one. 3

I really love answering reviews, I dunno why. I just do. XD


	14. Stolen

**A/N: **Sorry if there aren't any Graire last time. XD **Updated.** I placed a divider just like one of you suggested. XD Sorry.

**DISCLAIMER: DO NOT OWN IT.**

* * *

She jogged to the inn, blonde hair bouncing up and down as she did so. The soft gasps that escaped her breath with each hurried step taken were a sign that this time, she herself were in a state of panic. Claire gave a sigh of relief when she pushed the inn doors open and discovered that not many people were inside.

"Good. The less work, the better." She slumped to the chair behind the counter and leaned back, eyelids drooping slowly.

"What are you doing behind the counter?" Gray asked, opening the wooden doors cautiously, wearing a frown. "Doug sell this place to you or something?"

"Don't tell me you haven't heard from Ann." Claire told him. She sat straight up, ignoring the dizziness she felt due to the sudden movement. "Doug fainted."

She saw his eyes bulge in shock, but he quickly regained his composure. "I just got here from work. And what do you mean he fainted? The old man was just fine yesterday. He was even having a drinking contest with Duke last night."

Claire could only give him a shrug, and he sighed. "I don't know. Ann came running to my place asking me to take care of the inn. Big mistake, though. I'm not that much of a cook."

"But… you're a girl."

She gave him the Eyes of Death. "Sexist."

He backed off. Slowly. Pulling his cap down to hide his uneasiness. "Fine. Whatever. You know how to cook his stuff?" He asked her, pointing to the menu resting on the bar counter. "Because, well, you know… things will be hell in here at night."

Her face went pale suddenly. "You're serious? You're not messing with me? Because if you are, then you're dead meat," she threatened, but Gray just shrugged her off.

"What would I gain from lying about this?"

"You'd enjoy a front row seat to my incredible performance of stumbling all over my two left feet. Maybe even witness an explosion in the kitchen, but meh," She shrugged, looking away from him and holding back a grin. "Who cares?"

He rubbed his chin. "Good point. I'd like to see that."

"Get a life," was her reply.

Gray chuckled, adjusted his baseball cap and smiled. "You know," he began, "my room kind of needs a bit of cleaning up…"

A step backwards. It was more of a preparation of what's to come. Claire gave him the best scowl she could manage. "There's no way I'm going to clean your room, Gray," she refused.

He shrugged as he turned away from her, taking slow steps towards the stairs. "Okay then. I'll just ask Ann later when she gets home. After all, _she_ does all the cleaning in this place. I'm sure it'll only take her a second to finish up so it really doesn't matter if she has Doug to take care of." His tone was a pitch higher than usual, and it was suspicious.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Dirty."

"I could care less." He admitted. The guy was quite the handful, and annoying to boot. Under clenched teeth and nerves popped, she carefully treaded up the stairs towards his room. She reached the door, but hesitated upon entering.

What was up with the situation, anyway? What was she doing in here, at the second floor of the inn, in front of Gray's room, attempting to clean it up?

Her hands tingled from the cold surface of the knob, and took steps into the room, with Gray closely following from behind.

She couldn't believe her eyes—and nose. Clothes were everywhere, specifically his underwear. The weird thing was, the only area that was dirty was the one near the blacksmith's bed. Several magazines lay scattered on his ruffled bed sheets and blanket, and she closed her eyes. Maybe if she wished hard enough, everything would go away.

Gray leaned by the doorframe, arms folded. "If you can't handle it, you don't have to do it, you know." There was taunting in his voice. She was sure of it.

She didn't have to look at him to know, Claire knew that as soon as she rolled her sleeves up, a sly smile betrayed his face. She began by picking up clothes from the floor. Judging from the smell, they hadn't been washed for days. Now, she wasn't really that obsessive compulsive to freak out over every little dirty thing, she was a farmer, for crying out loud. But leaving dirty laundry on the floor for days? She felt like she was about to pass out.

The next target was his bed. She frowned, flipping the covers to somehow clear little gravels that Claire had no idea how they got there. She gave him a conspicuous glance, but he just shrugged it off. His bed was now straightened out, so the next thing to do was—

_Plop!_

Gray had free-fallen onto his bed, ruining all of Claire's hard work.

"Gray! I just finished with that!" She screamed, clearly frustrated over the fact that he was there to make her life a living hell.

"Ann lets me do it." He stated.

Claire let out a snort. "I'm not Ann, now get off. I'm seriously wiped out." Honestly, she was. Claire had been working since morning, and just as she was about to tuck in for the day, Ann makes a distress call, telling her to help out at the Inn. She was tired, and the soft covers of the bed were practically calling her name.

"Fine then," she huffed, falling beside him. He bounced. "I give up."

Claire would have noticed how red his cheeks had become if he hadn't looked away immediately, but she was too exhausted to notice anything at this point. "Get off my bed, farmer." She heard him say.

"No." Her simple reply.

They were facing each other, but they weren't close enough to actually touch. Her eyelids were somehow drooping to close, and she willed herself to stay awake. She knew that Gray was watching her.

"Wow. You really _are _tired, aren't you?" He laughed.

"You have…" She yawned. "…no idea."

Claire bid him goodnight and soon her vision filled with black.

xXx

"_What do you want?" She yelled, even though it was the middle of the night. Of course, it didn't matter if they were noisy considering the city never slept, but after grueling hours of work, all Claire wanted to do was just that. So he couldn't blame her for feeling irritated._

_Just… he was too drunk to care._

"_Don't be a stranger, Claire." She winced at the sound of her name. He didn't have the right to utter her name! He shouldn't even be here! "Your sister," he took clumsy steps towards her bed, pushing her along. "…she—she broke up with me."_

"_Good," she smirked. "It shows she's finally come to her senses." He grabbed her shoulder and squeezed, earning a cry of pain from the blonde. Claire attempted to pull away from him, but he was unexpectedly strong. "Let go." She warned._

"_Don't say that. Haven't we done this before?" He told her, voice pleading._

_She fell on her back, landing straight on the soft mattress with his body pressed on to hers. With all of her strength, she—unsuccessfully—tried to push him away. The bastard reeked of alcohol, his wardrobe stained with vomit, and his eyes filled with lust. She wanted to scream as he pressed his undeserving lips on her neck-_

_-When her sister pushed open the door, fuming with rage. "Claire!" She called, eyes trained on the two bodies clumped together. "How could you do this to me? We're sisters!"_

_She wanted to explain. She wanted to tell her that he barged in on her in the middle of the night, trying to push her into doing something with him that she would rather not, but her face was too hot with tears to do so. It was like a huge lump in her throat prevented her to speak._

"_You… you… you third wheel!" Her sister screamed, ripping him away from her, and holding on to him protectively. Didn't he just tell her they were broken up? What gives? "Don't ever come near me… ever!"_

_Just like that, they left. The image of two shadows was left engraved in her mind, left darkened by the street lights over the open door, framing silhouettes of a woman dragging a man outside._

_Claire released a sigh of relief and allowed herself to cry once more._

xXx

Claire woke up sweating, only to meet the stoic face of the local doctor, who seemed to be too busy examining her to even care how uneasy his patient had appeared to be. His eyes were dark and piercing, not to mention annoying, but she felt too weak to complain about it. Besides waking to a nightmare, she wasn't in the mood for an argument.

"Good, you're awake." He told her, leaning against the chair.

Her gaze wandered, scanning every detail in every inch of the unfamiliar room. She noticed Elli waving to her with a worried smile, and reassured her with a weak one of her own. She returned to staring at the observing physician, with a keen expression planted on his face.

"What—?"

"You fainted. Basically, you're stressed—physically and mentally." He blurted.

Claire raised a brow, tucking a bit of blonde hair behind her ear. "Wait, back up. I… fainted?" She coughed. "As in conked? Passed out? As in, lacked in strength and vigor that I fell into a deep sleep against my will?" She was beginning to sound like Mary.

Trent simply gave her a nod, eyes trained on a piece of paper he was scribbling on.

She shook her head like she skeptical of the whole situation. "How did I get here?"

Elli emerged from the other room. She was, thankfully, holding a glass of water and handed it to Claire. "Gray carried you here." Gray did? Wow. "Honestly, Claire. First Doug and now you?" She scolded.

Doug! "What happened to him?" Claire asked.

"Nothing serious," the doctor said. He nodded to Elli just before she left the room. Claire watched her resume her post behind the counter. "He had a case of heat stroke, with it being summer and all. He woke up the day after he was brought here."

Claire allowed her shoulders to relax, and then rested her head on a pillow. She still found it hard to believe she was at the clinic. "Good. That's good to hear." She smiled. "How long was I asleep?"

He snorted. "Three days."

Claire suddenly sat up, ignoring another feeling of dizziness that overwhelmed her. "Three days?" She yelled. "I've been asleep for three days?"

She must have worked harder than she thought.

Another nod. "Yes. I was told you were cleaning a room in the inn, where you fell asleep, unaware that you had already passed out."

So she already fainted that time… who expected that? Wait… "What about the inn? Who helped out while Ann was away? And—" She gasped. "My farm!"

"I believe it is my turn to ask the questions." Trent said, ignoring the little girl about to burst into a tantrum. Claire swallowed. The doctor looked like he was serious business this time. The first time they met she thought he was a complete quack. He fed her unknown medicine, for crying out loud! But looking at him now, it was like he was a completely different person, and she couldn't help but look at him in a different way. "Have you been skipping meals?"

The farmer rubbed her chin in deep thought, but she wasn't pondering on his question. She was too busy worrying about her farm. "Um, not really. Although there was that one time I forgot to eat lunch because of those demon chickens. Wait, I think it happened twice, or maybe three times…?"

He scribbled something on his paper. "…Tell me about your working habits."

Claire paused. She tried to recall her mornings, about how she would start off with the day. "I… wake up at six, wander the mountains for shipments. Then to the mines to, well, mine. By noon I'd be at home, taking care of the animals and watering the crops. I go out for a bite to eat and return after an hour." She told him. Claire frowned. Her memory was getting fuzzy by that time. "Ah, when I return I collect firewood, pull out the weeds and get rid of the rocks until sundown."

Claire smiled; incredibly pleased with herself with how she remembered everything. Her memory wasn't that great. But her smile quickly faded upon seeing the strange look on Trent's face. He was just staring at her without uttering a single word. Then, abruptly he stood up, walked closer to her, and with all of his might…

_Smack!_ Rough, medical hands hit the back of a farmer's self-proclaimed delicate head.

"Ow!" Claire cried in pain. "What the hell was that for, you quack?"

"Young lady, you are working yourself to death!" He yelled in high c. "I forbid you to do anything related to menial labor! People are prone to fainting during the summer, if you are unaware!"

It was the first time she saw the doctor lose his cool since she arrived in this town. Claire made a mental note to mark it on her calendar. "Young lady…" She repeated. "Well, you're not that much older than I am!"

"I have a degree." He said. "Two, even."

She clamped her mouth shut. _Fine_, she thought. Claire had to admit that he was a bit mature contrasting to his young age, except when he attempts to make a human his guinea pig, but take that away and he was pretty smart. Maybe even a genius—and geniuses were often misunderstood as much as they were insane.

"I'm going to have to make a few changes to your schedule. Do you have any complaints?" He asked, why did he even bother?

"You wouldn't care even if I had some." She muttered, arms folded.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

He resumed writing on the piece of paper while Claire looked around the clinic impatiently. How long was she going to be kept here? She tried hard not to think about how hideous her farm must appear at the moment and focused on her own situation. But how could she with the deafening silence of the room, the only sounds were the light scratches of the pen on paper, with the occasional sniffing of the nurse at the other room.

She jumped at the sound of ripping paper. "I've written your new schedule, fill in the blanks yourself. Make sure you follow it." He sighed. "Your workaholic ways are going to be the death of me. I'd appreciate it if you remained healthy." He handed her the piece of paper, and she messily tucked it in her side pocket.

"You sound like an old man. No offense." She laughed. When she saw that he didn't find her amusing, she nervously cleared her throat. "Anyway, thanks. Uh, how much?"

"Ask my nurse."

She gave him a nod and made her way outside of his office and into the lobby. Elli smiled at her and handed her the bill. Claire sighed, gave her thanks and paid her. _There goes a day's hard work. _Releasing a groan, she left the building.

Outside, Claire pulled out the note the doctor wrote from her pocket. His writing wasn't pretty, as expected, but she was able to make out the important stuff, anyway.

_Work for two hours, rest for one. Rinse and repeat. Sleep eight hours, eat three meals a day._

And yadda, yadda, yadda.

"Party pooper."

Deciding to follow his advice anyway, she headed for her farm to sleep. _But only after checking the animals._

xXx

Claire arrived a few minutes later, preparing herself for the mess she was about to see. She opened the barn doors. The bins were filled with fodder. Confused, she ran to the chicken coop. Same. They were filled with chicken feed, as well. Gasping for breath, she analyzed her farm. It was cleaner—less weeds and rocks—and the shipping bin was stuffed with herbs and ores from the mine.

Who—?

She entered her house, only to find that even her dog was fed. _What the hell?_ Claire frowned, not because she was unhappy, but because she was going to think about her little helper for awhile, thinking of a debt that was impossible to pay. Her eyes wandered all over the room, and something caught her eye.

There was a huge lump on her couch.

She took cautious steps near it, and laughed.

"Gray?" She touched his face, which was moist from sweating. An irritated groan escaped his mouth.

"Five more minutes." She heard him say. Claire couldn't help but giggle.

Her fingers fiddled around his orange hair. It was the first time she had seen him without his cap, so his face could be seen clearly. His features revealed the long eyelashes he had as he slept, perfectly shaped nose and lips, usually tight because of his frequent attempt to be obstinate, were relaxed.

Gray looked like a kid.

She stared at him warmly. This was proof of what Claire already knew. This blacksmith really had a soft heart underneath, and she was somehow glad that she was the only person who had the privilege to actually witness it. She liked the way he'd blush at the slightest compliment, and shy away at every nice thing she does, acting like he didn't deserve it. But he did. Gray deserved a lot of things.

She leaned in closer, attempting to get a closer look at his sleeping face, and the usual frown she had when he was near was nowhere in sight. Instead, there was a soft feeling of longing forming within her heart.

Wait. Longing?

Pulling back, she shook her head, trying to rid herself of unwanted thoughts. She stared at him some more, and that was all it took.

Before she could stop herself, her lips were already pressed against his.

* * *

EVIL CLIFFIE!

**xLazyXChibix:** Sorry about that. hahahaha

**Massu Chan: **Doug's fine. Here's Gray. XD

**tufted titmouse:** Well, you're right about one thing: Gray's at the Inn. XD

**xXx Tinkies xXx:** Thank You. XD


	15. Tell Me

**A/N:** Hi! It's been a while! I apologize for the very, very very slow update. I've been really busy. Waaaa, I feel so guilty!

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harvest Moon.**

* * *

"What am I doing?"

Claire sighed. It was shocking enough to find that Gray had been sleeping on her couch after doing practically everything around the farm for her, and it didn't help how cute she thought he looked while he was sleeping, but what surprised her most were her actions.

Why on god's green earth would she kiss him? While sleeping, nonetheless!

Of course, she understood why. But Claire found it hard to accept, especially after swearing to herself that she'd stay single for the rest of her life. Gray was off-limits. He was off-limits. She wanted to engrave this in her mind, Mary had enough reasons not to talk to her, and she really didn't need another one.

She sat on the carpeted floor, resting her back on her bed. Her face had frustration written all over it, and it was times like these when her little angel and devil would start appearing over her shoulder. Friends before boys, she thought. If friends were a lifetime, boys were just a waste of it. Perhaps thinking that way was wrong, but under circumstances, she had no choice but to think that way.

Her mind wandered back to that frigid room. There was no gentle pitter-patter of the rain, no calming sound of leaves swaying in the wind, just… deafening silence. From her window, the sky was pitch-black, telling her it was night, but her watch said otherwise. In the earliest of mornings, a feeling of dread hung in the air, like something was about to happen. Claire hid under the soft covers of her blanket, hoping to create a barrier from whatever was lurking in the shadows. The grip on her pillow tightened, as if doing so would help drive the scary feeling away, but of course, life wasn't that easy. To overcome something, you had to do it yourself.

But Claire had been doing that all her life.

She sighed once more. "Why am I remembering now?"

It was pointless to keep asking herself questions when she knew the answers to them. Deep down, she knew she didn't want to keep her oath. Nobody wanted to be alone in the world. Just… when trust had been breached and everything was destroyed, she found it unbearable to be with people. She swore never to love again, but all along she knew, that all she wanted was someone to stay by her side.

Claire had been foolish to want this of Gray.

She hugged her knees, burying her face in her arms. What was she doing, sitting on the floor, with a guy sleeping soundly on her couch?

For the third time, she heaved a heavy sigh. She did it because even though sighing didn't solve things, doing so made her feel a little better, but then the heavy feelings would return, and she had to do it again. So for the rest of the night, that was all she kept doing.

xXx

Morning came, and Claire woke up wrapped in her blanket, surrounded by her pillows. The scent of fried eggs lingered in the air. Her blonde hair was tangled in quite a mess, and her suspicions were correct, a bit of drool had dried up, marking a straight white line from her bottom lip to her jaw line.

"Finally, you're awake."

She jumped at the sound of his voice. As she turned to face him, her gaze fell directly to his lips, causing her to turn away as quickly as she faced him. Claire didn't want to take chances if her face was beet red.

Gray sat at her table, his right cheek resting on his palm. He tapped his fingers in an impatient rhythm as he frowned. "_This_ is how you repay me for cooking for you? Aside from doing all your stupid farm work—"

"If it was stupid then why did you do it?" She snapped, still not facing him.

The blacksmith scratched his head, nervously clearing his throat. "W-well… that's because…"

"Never mind," she jumped from her bed and took a seat beside him, "these things better be awesome," she warned, pointing to the plateful of fried eggs on the table.

He smirked, confidence clear in his face. "Of course, that's my best dish."

"Fried eggs?" She asked.

"Yep."

"You crack the eggs and cook them in oil."

"Yep."

"_This_ is your best dish."

"Yep."

She laughed. Claire didn't mean to, but she laughed. It wasn't even that funny to begin with, but she laughed so hard tears were streaming down her cheeks, her chest tightened and her stomach ached. Gray scowled, preparing to give her a big lump on the head, but stopped.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that her tears weren't of joy.

She felt him staring, she knew he wasn't angry—that he was aware of her depression, but she ignored him and kept laughing and let the tears flow. Gray just sat beside her, staring at her, like her world had gone into pieces.

The cries of pain she hid in her laughter had emerged. _Just go with it_, she thought. She wasn't fooling anyone today, anyway. She cried and cried, never slowing down.

When had she started to like him this much, to the point of tears?

Gray was a mean jerk, he had a short fuse, too much pride to apologize and he smirked too much. He was a snob, ignoring everybody else like they were the plague, he was dense, ignoring Mary's feelings after all these years. He only had eyes for his hammer, and when he wasn't holding it, he'd hide behind his stupid little baseball cap.

But…

When he ignored everybody, he took notice of Claire. Despite his prideful air, he swallowed his to apologize to her. He was dense, but that wasn't his fault—he wouldn't be Gray if he wasn't. His hands, trained only for his hammer, took the time help her when she was in need. Claire liked how she'd hide behind his cap, how he'd look the opposite way when he blushed.

Slight touches, voices, gestures, these were what made Gray… Gray.

All this time, these were her feelings, and everyone could see it, even Mary.

Claire cried harder, to the point of her throat hurting. It didn't look like she was going to stop anytime soon.

"I wish these feelings would just disappear!"

Yes, if they did, then everything would be easier. Gray would hook up with Mary, and Elli with Trent, and everybody else who deserved to be happy.

Everybody who wasn't a third wheel.

"Hey," he called. His sudden voice surprised her, causing her to stop crying with a hiccup. She looked up at him, and found him grinning widely up to her ears.

"…what?" she asked, irritated by how he interrupted her emotional moment.

"Ever been to the hot springs?"

She shook her head. "Not really."

"Want to go tonight?"

Claire's eyes narrowed. Weren't hot springs those public baths? Baths usually require being butt-naked. "With you?"

"Of course, who else?" He answered.

Claire's face went hot with embarrassment. She stood up, causing Gray to almost fall off his seat. "Like hell I'm going in naked with you!"

Silence.

Then snorts of laughter.

Gray was laughing. Not in the way Claire did a while ago. He was laughing like he was making fun of her. No, he _was_ making fun of her! "What's so funny?" She scowled.

"You moron! Who said anything about being naked? We're wearing swimsuits, idiot."

Of course, if it wasn't already obvious, Claire was blushing like crazy. "O-oh, swimsuits. Of course," she laughed, feeling absolutely stupid, "heh. I suppose it's okay if we wore swimsuits."

"You pervert." Gray received a smack in the head for that, causing him to grimace.

xXx

The moon glistened softly in the sky, giving the forest a nice shade of blue. Claire had never been to the hot springs before, even though she had been here for a whole season. She had to admit, she was feeling a bit excited. Maybe a monkey would consider taking a bath with her, like the things she saw in the movies. Feeling giddy, she skipped towards the public bath, with Gray following closely behind her.

"Hurry up, slowpoke! You'll miss my big dive!" She yelled, already in front of the entrance. The blacksmith chuckled, quickening his pace.

"Save some of the water for me," he said. Claire was already in the water, watching as Gray slid his feet on the moist rocks that surrounded the spring.

"I see why you wanted to go at night," she said, leaning back a little, "it's summer, and it'd be too hot to go in the afternoon." She stated confidently, earning a chuckle from Gray. Sure enough, he was already on the verge of falling asleep.

Claire had forgotten that she wasn't the only one who worked like no tomorrow. She knew that Gray was a hard worker, despite not liking his grandfather, she could see clearly in his eyes the desire to be a blacksmith, and that was probably one of the reasons she fell in love with him. She blushed at the thought.

"I won't ask why," he told her suddenly, which made Claire jump a little. "I won't ask why you cried, but i-if ever you want to cry your heart out again… you can… come to me." Even without actually saying it, she could tell that he wanted to hide behind his cap again, but he took it off before going in, so she had the pleasure of staring at his adorable embarrassed face.

What he said triggered a feeling of content in Claire. From what the townspeople were saying, Gray was not an open person, so she felt slightly special when he tried to reach out to her. They were friends, probably all they were going to be, but for now, she seemed the closest to him, and that was enough to make her happy.

"S-say something!" He cried, desperation in his tone. Claire couldn't help but laugh. She slid next to him, allowing their shoulders to touch, and smiled when she felt them tense upon contact.

"There isn't much to be said," she told him, resting her head on his shoulder, "but… thank you."

This was definitely a moment worth jotting down in her diary, Claire thought. A moment just for the two of them, and she wasn't going to let anyone ruin it. One day, she knew that she was going to lock her feelings inside her heart for Mary's sake. One day, she was going to have to live with her suppressed emotions, maybe the best she could do was daydream about him while brushing her cows or feeding the chickens, so for now, she was going to let herself be selfish for once.

"Claire…"

She closed her eyes, smiling, "hmm?"

"Do you think… that there's a chance that you and I…"

Him and her? Claire backed off a little, trying to get a clear look of his face. Gray had a perplexed look right then, and from the short distance she could almost swear she heard the sound of his heart beating.

"Y-you… and I…"

She stared into his eyes, which were filled with uncertainty, but at the same time, he seemed so sure of himself. What could Gray want from her?

"…you…"

His face was a subtle shade of blue, reflected by the moonlight. Claire couldn't see from his shadow-covered features, but she was sure of the nervousness he felt from the deep breaths he let escape from his mouth.

"What is it?" She urged. Upon hearing her voice, he squeezed his eyes shut, as if trying to block something away. Claire tried to be patient, but it had been decided that patience wasn't one of her strong points. "Tell me."

Claire felt the gentle waves that formed when Gray moved. They collided with her skin, and the soft splashes were heard clearly while he leaned in closer. As the gap between them closes, the shadows on their faces grew darker.

That moment, she felt as if her world had spun around. Her breath became more rapid, and her heart drummed a faster rhythm than normal. She could feel him getting closer, feeling his breath lightly on her nose. Their foreheads touched, and Claire felt a shudder run through her spine. She felt a compelling urge to run away, but she's had enough of that.

Claire was going to stop being a coward, even if it killed her.

"I…" Even though their foreheads were touching, Gray did his best to avoid looking into her eyes. She tried her best not to move, to just let him do whatever he wanted, but she wished that he'd just hurry up. She was going to go nuts.

They stood at the middle of the spring, two figures enclosed in a white circle rippling on the water. Both scared, both unsure, both had no idea what to do. They closed their eyes, and let fate do the rest.

"What are you two doing?" A voice caused Claire to roughly push him away, forcing Gray to bump into the edge of the spring. Gray scowled as he continued to stare at her in disbelief.

"The hell's wrong with you?" he cried, but stopped short when he noticed a lean figure standing over the side of the pool. Claire hid behind him, and he stepped forward, taking a protective stance.

It was only when the figure leaned forward, when the moon revealed his face, had the two realized they were in for trouble.

"H-harris?" Claire asked, peeking from behind Gray's shoulder. "Um, what are you doing here?"

"That's what I should be asking the two of you! It's dangerous in these parts at night! I advice that the two of you get out of the water at once!"

This might've been the first time they saw the policeman's angry face, and they weren't happy about it. Immediately after, they grabbed their respective towels and got out of the water, bracing themselves for the long lecture that was to come.

"You don't need me to tell you how inappropriate it is for a girl and a boy to be alone at this time of night, do you?" He asked. Claire could tell that he was expecting the right answer from them, so they had better not screw this up. Both of them gave small, shameful nods. Harris shook his head, heaving a disappointed sigh. "I know you two are smarter than this, so I expect you not to do this kind of thing again."

After a long lecture from Harris, they were finally allowed to go home. Gray stepped forward, staring at his feet, as if he was trying to say something. "What is it?" Harris asked.

Gray fidgeted, "you're not…um, going to be… spreading this to anyone, are you?" He whispered. Claire could barely hear him.

The policeman let out an amused laugh, and winked. "Of course not."

xXx

"That was close!" Gray yelled after arriving at the farm. He stretched his arms into the air, and shook his head the way a dog would to try and dry his hair. As Claire had expected, he placed his baseball cap on.

She laughed softly. "Yes, definitely," she said. Claire had a content look on her face. "So… what were you saying before Harris interrupted us?" Suddenly, Gray's face had flushed beet red, and Claire, who was surprised by this, narrowed her eyes. It was time for a little bit of fun, she thought.

"N-nothing," he told her, but she wasn't buying it.

Claire started towards him, and he took frightened steps back. "Come on, tell me! You can't put off something like this now! You're going to keep me up thinking about it."

"I told you, it's nothing!" He yelled, and then ran quickly towards the farm's exit.

Claire, who was left alone, laughed quietly. She turned around to tuck in for the night.

* * *

**Massu Chan: **Sorry, sorry. I placed a separator like you asked. XD

**tufted titmouse: **They did! :3

**3: **Thank you so much! I'll do my best. XD

**xXWaffleLuvaXx: **Thank you! Sorry for only updating now.

**xXx Tinkies xXx: **Yes, he did. And she, as well. Haha, thank you.

**xLazyXChibix: **Oh, let it go! Hahahaha!

**Naty17: **Wow... I was really touched by your speech. XD LOL, honestly. Thank you very much, I didn't expect that I could make something that'd change your opinion. Thank you so much, really. *sniff* I've got a little something in my eye, here.

**Melissa43097: **Yes, they did. Hahaha! Thank you. XD

**lollipopdiego: **More on the sweet side? Really? I like Kai with Mary, too. There's just something about them that makes my stomach twist in knots. XD And, yes, they kissed. And that totally unsexy bed scene I think, has been redeemed. Trent's spazzing was fun to write, too.

**Syrial: **Hehehehe, thanks a lot. :3

**Young16: **Ah, hahahaha. Thank you so much! I will continue this!

**Fanfic-luver026: **Oh, sorry, haha. I'm afraid he isn't. Thanks for the review. 3


	16. Oh, snap!

**A/N: **Goodness, could this be? Honestly? Seriously? Oh my goodness, my fastest update yet! ...I, uh, think. Well, anyway, please enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: Hmm? Harvest Moon? Oh yes, I was about to claim ownership of it... but then I woke up.**

* * *

"G-Gray," Cliff was rolling on his bed, hugging himself from the pain of laughing too much. Tears were present in his eyes. It was reassuring to have a roommate who was as cheerful as he was serious… not. "I never knew you were such a romantic!"

"Piss off," the blacksmith replied, hiding the blush that was evident on his face. He lay frustrated on his bed, resting his head on his palms. Gray did his best to resist the urge to become a murderer.

That was it. Cliff had totally broken the wall between them. He was laughing maniacally at his expense, and Gray felt like he had an obligation not to hit him square in the face. It was so hard, so painfully hard. Cliff laughed like an idiot, and then sat up, ruffling the soft sheets of blankets around him. An annoying grin grazed his features.

"Come on, Gray. You gotta admit, that's something," he said, pointing to a shiny porcelain vase on the small table beside Gray's bed. Flowers of yellow and white were displayed magnificently inside it. Those were the flowers he picked at Mother's Hill, and he had every intention of giving it to Claire, but…

"You picked a bunch of flowers for Claire last spring, forgot to give it to her, and you're _still_ keeping it in here like it was your crowning glory or something. Honestly, Gray, I didn't think you were so… innocent."

"You're getting pretty cocky just because you have a girlfriend," he muttered. Gray rolled around, snatched a pillow and hid his face under it. "It'll be hard to tell who the girl is in your relationship."

Though Cliff couldn't see it, Gray smirked like he made the greatest insult in the world.

"T-that's not… I wasn't trying to…"

Now _that_ was the Cliff he knew and was irritated with, not the wild one who would occasionally show up whenever provoked. Gray didn't want to admit it, but Cliff was tougher if he wanted it to be.

"A-anyway, what are you going to do about those flowers?" He asked, letting himself fall on his own bed. He released a sigh.

As if Gray would know.

"Things have been pretty weird around them lately," Cliff muttered to no one in particular. He had this blank look as he stared into the ceiling. Gray lifted the pillow from his head and turned to face the other side of the room, where he could see his roommate dazing off into space.

He blinked. "With who?"

"Claire and Mary."

It was his turn to sit up, and he frowned while doing it, too. What was happening between those two? "Why?"

He heard him laugh, not with him, but _at_ him. Brown eyes stared blankly into his blue ones, and for some reason, he felt like he was being looked at like he was stupid. "Honestly, how dense can you be?"

Gray raised a brow. "That's what you're going to be if you don't spill."

"I don't think I have the right to say anything," Cliff told him. _What_ right? What did he mean by that? Sure, it was true that it wasn't the same when they hung out at the library anymore, and that whenever he'd see those two together this huge tension would build up, but why? They had been friends since Claire had moved to this town.

It probably began that night—the Goddess Festival, but what could it have been?

He tried to recall that night's events. He went to Claire's farm, fed her chickens, went to the square, danced with Mary, got dragged by Ann to dance with Claire, had an embarrassing moment with her…

_Poof_, he thought, or maybe _Bingo_ was more right a word?

He sat up again, face buried in his hands. He sighed heavily. "I'm stupid, aren't I?"

Cliff shook his head, "no, not really, just dense."

"Mary probably felt out of place since I danced with Claire, instead," he continued, and Cliff nodded intently. "I probably should have asked someone to keep her company or something."

Cliff nodded once more, "yes, that's—wait, no!"

The sudden intensity in his voice made Gray jerk his head up in surprise. Cliff pressed his fingers to his eyebrows in frustration, and shook his head. "Huh?"

Sighing, he said, "You _really_ don't get it, do you?"

Gray frowned. "What? What don't I get? Tell me!"

xXx

Flea bounced happily on the floor, black beady eyes staring expectantly at his owner. Claire glared at him with such intensity that it was no surprise if everything in her refrigerator melted from the heat.

"This is the hundredth… and _last_ time I'm going to throw this ball for you, okay?" Claire warned him, but the puppy merely barked in bliss, lowered his two front paws and raised his furry hind legs in a playful stance. Claire smirked at how his little tongue flapped violently in his mouth.

With a grace that of a farmer, she threw the ball a few yards towards the apple tree. Flea scampered towards it, taking small gasps of air while he fumbled for the blasted round thing.

Claire sat down, ruffling her long blonde hair, which was already quite a mess. Honestly, what _was_ she doing, going to a hot spring with Gray? If Mary found out… if she found out, then…

"Argh!" she yelled in frustration.

Her little farm hands reached for the sky as she allowed herself to fall directly on the ground, not even bothering to roll her sleeves up to prevent even more filth from staining her overalls. She gazed at the sky, admiring how blue it was. Compared to the dark, moonlit blue of last night's endeavor, this was much lighter, more… free. As if just looking at it would allow her to fly from all the problems in her life.

"What's wrong with me?"

It might have been a good idea to sort out her thoughts, to organize things a little. For starters, Mary liked Gray and _she_ liked Gray, and Gray… who knew who he liked? Mary seemed to think it was Claire, but… that was just impossible. Although last night was somehow… convincing.

She shook her head. No, he probably did it to cheer her up, since she was bawling her heart out yesterday. He probably had pity on her, and that was why he invited her to the hot springs. Not more, not less.

"Gray is… he's off-limits," she told herself. She tried to, at least, but her heart just won't listen to her no matter how hard she yelled at it.

"Who's off-limits?" Claire sat up, blue eyes big and round in surprise. She turned to face the entrance of the farm, where she thought the voice came from, and frowned.

"Kai… what do you want?"

He laughed, white teeth contrasting to his dark skin. "Come now, Claire. Is that any way to treat a being as handsome as myself?"

Ah, Kai. Always going on about his narcissist ways. Honestly, that was what she needed right now, a change of pace from everything stressful in this so-called peaceful town. _'Nothing changes,'_ Claire remembered the mayor's words, hah! Yeah right.

"Whatever. So, how's your courtship with Mary going? Did she turn you down quietly or violently?"

He clicked his tongue and swung his fingers pointedly at her, as if gesturing that everything she had said was wrong in many ways. "Claire, Claire, Claire…" he said confidently, "I haven't even done anything yet, and already the woman is warming up to me."

Of course, she didn't believe that. She merely raised a brow, and that earned a chuckle from the promiscuous guy in front of her. "Oh really?"

He nodded, "really."

"And what proof might you have of that?"

Kai sat on the ground beside her, and nudged her shoulder with his. "Did you know that she was writing a book?"

Really? "No…"

"I can't tell you the details, but it's pretty interesting. And guess what? She's dedicating it to somebody."

"Really?" Kai smirked at her surprised tone, and confidently lay on the ground with his arms behind his head. She never heard of anything like that. Were they not as close as she thought?

Claire glared at him furiously, and rested her chin on her knees. "That girl… she's your friend, right?" He asked.

"My best friend."

His expression was skeptical. "Huh," was all he could manage. "You don't have a best friend in the city?"

She smiled, shaking her head serenely. "Not even a family."

He cleared his throat, and didn't say anything for a while. She thought ill of herself, for ruining the cheerful mood. Why did she always have to be like that? She just had this knack of ruining everything. If only…

If only she didn't take his hand that time, then maybe things would have stayed the same.

Maybe they would have been laughing happily at the library, getting scolded for arguing and being noisy, but remaining friends, nonetheless.

"You know, she talked about you."

_That_ got her attention. "What did she say?"

Kai sat up, scanning every inch of her farm. She flushed slightly, wondering if he thought it nice or… filthy, but that wasn't the issue here. "She told me that you were stupid."

Ouch.

"But… she told me that you were really cool, and she wished that she could be as open as you."

Her? Open? Hah! She had been bottling up everything inside her since she moved here, not to mention the sarcastic remarks she would think whenever anybody made a comment about anything. She had always been so obstinate, to the point that it was annoying. No wonder that bastard cheated on her back in the city.

Ah, but she was the third wheel. She kept forgetting that fact.

This time, too. Perhaps the moment she came here was the moment she ruined Mary's romance with Gray. "I'm not… open at all," she admitted.

"I agree," Kai told her with a smile that annoyed the hell out of her. "You're not the type to be honest about anything."

She huffed. "Well, thanks a lot. It's like you _know_ me or something." He didn't. They'd only met this season, and so far all she's known about him was that he was a player.

"So you're saying that you're honest?"

Hah, he was getting good at shutting her up.

xXx

He stared intently at the flowers enclosed in porcelain, wondering what to do with them. Gray was left alone in the room—thankfully—for Cliff, that bastard, had gone on a date with Ann, so he stood at one corner of the room, arms crossed, staring intensely at the little monsters made of yellow and white.

"Damn it."

If there was a manual—anything at all—maybe a 'how to for dummies,' or anything about girls, then he'd buy it... maybe, if it was a thousand or less. He was cheap like that.

"That girl! That idiotic girl! Making me worry about stupid things like flowers! And what the hell was I thinking, inviting her to the hot springs—at night, to boot! Why couldn't I have been like before? I could have just continued avoiding people and let these stupid feelings pass!"

He stopped pulling his hair abruptly, like he had come to a realization. _Had_ he wanted his feelings to pass? Gray had never done anything so… exciting before. He was actually excited to go to a festival, for one thing, and normally he wouldn't have let anybody push him around, but he didn't mind working like a slave around her farm just so she could rest easy when she passed out.

He blamed himself for not noticing how tired she seemed.

To hell with things! To hell with romance! To hell with everything!

He needed a walk—badly.

Gray wondered if it was a good idea to go to the library, despite everything that's happening. Hell, he didn't even know what was happening, for crying out loud! Why could Cliff just come straight out and say it, so that he could save him the trouble of figuring it out himself. Gray sucked at things like that, since he wasn't used to dealing with people.

He wandered aimlessly, going around in circles. He passed the square, the church, clinic and was just about to pass the library when he stopped.

If… if he asked Mary… she'd tell him, right?

_Bad idea, Gray! Bad!_ That would have probably made things worse between the three of them. Damn it, just what the hell was happening?

"Gray?" A voice called—it belonged to a female, he thought. She stood in front of him, tucking her golden brown hair behind her ears. He thought she had cat-like eyes with the way the slanted like that.

He pulled his cap down. "Karen," he said, to acknowledge her presence maybe, nothing more.

"Why are you just standing there?"

It wasn't any of her business, but I tried not to be rude. "Nothing." Rephrase: I tried not to be _too _rude. He sighed. Why was it so tiring to deal with people?

Karen just shrugged, and continued to walk past him. In a way they were alike, not caring about anything happening in this town, but right now he cared. He cared about a lot of things, and t was all so new that he needed someone to talk to so badly, it didn't matter who the person was.

"Are you… friends with Mary?"

She halted, and turned around slowly. Despite the sudden question, her face was indifferent and uncaring. "Not really," she said, "we've talked a little about books, is all."

"O-oh…"

They both stood there in silence. Gray was awkwardly squirming and Karen was simply waiting in case he wanted to say anything else.

He stared at the ground. "Uh… w-would you happen to know what might have happened between… Claire and Mary at the… Goddess Festival?"

She didn't answer for a long time, just stared at him. His eyes traveled uneasily all over the place, trailing everywhere except her eyes. It surprised her when she laughed.

"Everyone knows about it, really."

He blinked. Seriously?

"It's a small town. If anything interesting was happening, all ears will be present to eavesdrop on it," she told him, "besides; you guys were in the middle of the square, so of course we were going to notice you."

He pulled his cap down further, but it didn't hide the shade of pink that emerged from his cheeks.

She continued. "The way people see it, you two have a love triangle going on."

"What?" Karen jumped. She wasn't used to that side of Gray, he supposed. Only four people knew of his wild side—Kai, Mary, Cliff and Claire. "What do you mean a 'love triangle'?"

She sighed, clearly getting annoyed. "I mean it like it is—a love triangle."

That said, Karen took her leave.

_A… a love triangle? With me in the middle?_ No fucking way. Mary was nice, so people could have mistaken her kindles for love, and Claire… were the townspeople blind? Their relationship was like oil and fire, when put together, there'd be chaos. Why on earth would people come to the conclusion that these two girls liked him? Or…

Wait…

Maybe they thought that Mary had like him, and he liked Claire, although the last part was true, he wasn't entirely sure of the first, since Mary hadn't confessed or anything. He wanted to scream. These things were too much for him to handle, and it felt like he was going nuts. He had better keep walking. Maybe the exercise would help him clear the mess he called his mind.

xXx

"So, Claire… if you're interested, maybe you and I could go out sometime," he told her. Oh, please. As if his pathetic come-ons and useless flirtations would work on her. It'd be better to just work all day and maybe die of cardiac arrest from all the heart wrenching moments that she was currently experiencing.

Claire waved her hands, as if to chase him out of her farm. "Go away, Kai. I'm busy."

He laughed, backing off a little, although she had the impression that he was afraid of her, his grin told otherwise. "Fine, fine, I'll go. Maybe I'll kill some time at the library…" he trailed off. She watched him briskly walk towards the exit, and sighed.

Finally, he was gone.

She rolled her sleeves up. Alright, it was time to sort things out. Mary was her friend, and so was Gray. She wanted both of them happy, so the best way to do things would be to back off. Tell Mary that she didn't think of Gray like that, and tell Gray that if she was misleading him in any way, then piss off.

That sounded like a plan, didn't it?

Right. Time to practice.

She stood up, walked towards the apple tree and pretended that the big lug of wood was the blacksmith who worked just across her farm.

"Now, Gray," she began, placing her hands on her waist. "I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding. You might think that I… like you or something, but that's just plain wrong!"

She half-expected the tree to snap back at her, to deny everything she had just said. '_Who said anything about liking anyone? Don't think so highly of yourself.'_ Yeah, something along those lines. It was most likely these words that she'd hear coming from his mouth.

"I'm not thinking highly of myself! I'm just making things clear! There's no way that I'd actually li… li… lik…"

Geez, even to a tree she couldn't say it.

"W-well, now that _that's_ clear, then…"

Her hands dropped from her waist. "…then…"

Who was she kidding? Keeping things bottled up inside will only succeed in making her insane! The doctor already told her that she was mentally stressed, so she had to lay low on all the drama. _Just… let this all go, Claire. _That was the best idea.

She clenched her right fist and, with all of her might, punched the rough trunk that firmly stood in front of her. "Ow!" She whisked her hand in the air, blowing a few breaths to the painful area. Gray was kind of similar to the tree, she thought. They're both quiet, and strong, and both really easy to punch, and her hand would hurt when she hit both.

She allowed herself to slump dejectedly towards the ground, and carelessly lowered her guard, sighing in defeat. "Stupid Gray, why did I have to fall in love with you?"

"You… what?"

No way. Impossible. There was no possible way that that voice was his. No! She refused to accept it! She turned around, and… of course, as said before, life was cruel.

Shit.

* * *

**A/N:** Aw, crud. I seem to be leaving a lot of cliffhangers lately.

**Naty17:** perfect combination? *blush* that's too much! Waaah, thank you! *blush*

**xXx Tinkies xXx: **Hahaha, calm down. XD Thanks!

**ali-san: **Bwahahahaha! I imagined a voice when I read 'bravo, bravo, braviccimo!' hahaha! Made me LOL. And thanks a lot. XD

**HMhannah: **Well, uh... Gray'll say it... probably... uh... maybe? Hahahaha, kidding. Thanks!

**Massu Chan: **I don't think it's too much trouble, and I'm always happy to do whatever I can to help people be more comfortable with reading my stories. XD Thank you!

**hajiraari:** Thank you! I'll do my best!

THANK YOU GUYS for sticking with me for this long! Your reviews are what keeps me motivated despite the stress of real life. I love you guys! 3


	17. Left Hanging

**A/N: **...you guys all probably want to kill me, don't you? *flails arms around protectively* please don't hurt me!

I was suuuuuuuuuper busy! Honest! There are a lot of things going on right now, and I have no idea which ones to prioritize. I'll probably be like this in the future, too, so I'm apologizing in advance.

**Disclaimer:_ I do not own Harvest Moon._**

* * *

_Quick, Claire! A save—you need a save—right now!_

Gray's piercing gaze caused Claire's left eye to twitch in a frustrated manner. Why did people always enter her farm without her permission?

Her thoughts jumbled into what one could say… chaos, as she tried to think of an excuse as to why she was talking to a tree, moreover, confiding in it about her love problems—more specifically—her love problems about _Gray_.

"Could you repeat that?" he asked. He actually _dared_ to ask. Claire could feel the rising anger in her bones, as well as the nerves popping out of her forehead. She gritted her teeth, thinking how insensitive he was by forcing a girl to reveal her feelings like that.

If only there was a way to still come out on top of this situation…

She felt him eye her carefully. Claire could see how he was waiting for any kind of gesture she made to give herself away. Stuttering was not an option. A tight spot—that's what she had gotten herself into.

But wait!

An idea crossed her mind, but it was risky. Then again, in a situation as desperate as that, she had no choice. She took a deep breath, stood erect and went for the kill.

"I said," she began, tossing away her doubts. If she seemed uncertain before, that wasn't the case now. She walked towards him slowly, and grinned as she did so. Her finger traced a circular pattern on his chest, and smiled mischievously as she heard him let out a nervous cough.

Claire leaned in closer, her mouth right next to his ear.

"I've fallen in love with you," she whispered, and Gray jumped back, leaving a huge sudden gap between them. He covered his left ear, where she had breathed those frightful words to, and pointed an accusatory finger at her.

"Y-you…!" was all he could manage.

Blushing furiously, he kept hold of his ear, which had grown red from arousal. His face became serious a few moments after. "Are you for real?" he asked.

The farmer couldn't help but smile. She crossed her arms, amused by how troubled he appeared, but secretly disappointed by his skepticism. Was this how he would react to her if she _had_ decided to reveal her feelings? Not that she planned on confessing _this_ way, but…

Ah, well… never mind her thoughts. It wasn't like that was going to happen any time soon.

"Oh yes, I'm quite serious. I find you very attractive," she told him, "the way you hold your hammer… it's very… sexy." She said in the most seductive way she could.

"Se…sex…y?" he stuttered, realizing his own stupidity. He landed a hard punch on her head—without holding back—and yelled with his entire wrath. "Sexy, my ass! Stop messing with me, Claire! I seriously thought you were in love with me!"

She smirked. To hide the truth _with_ the truth, it was called reverse psychology.

Ah, but the pain was too much to smirk any longer, and she couldn't contain the grimace she held upon being hit on the head. Claire's face twisted into a scowl.

"You didn't have to hit me so hard, jerk!" She cried, rubbing the back of her head. She was going to wake up with a big lump tomorrow. For being so tactless, though, she feared that she deserved it.

"Serves you right for pulling a prank on me! I don't know what I would've…"

What?

Claire flexed her head towards his direction, looking at him expectantly. Gray shook his head, trying to get rid of another blush that was about to form on his cheeks. The blonde leaned against the apple tree with narrowed eyes. "You don't know what you would've… what?"

"Nothing!"

She would have especially loved having to interrogate Gray on this piece of information and torture the hell out of him, but seeing as she barely escaped a tight mess herself, she decided not to ponder too much on it. She stared up at the sky, which bore an orange glow, and searched for the setting sun.

Her gaze wandered back to the awkward blacksmith standing in front of her. "What did you come here for, anyway?"

She saw his blue eyes widen at the sound of her voice, suddenly looking like he remembered something. Gray clapped his hands together. "Ah, right! I wanted to ask you about Mary."

Claire abruptly looked away.

"Mary? W-What about her?"

The day when he asked her about Mary was inevitable, she knew it, but Claire wanted to avoid the topic as much as possible. She wasn't ready to talk about their situation yet. When he saw how troubled she seemed, he let out a sigh, and slumped to the ground.

"You two haven't been getting along that great, have you? A-and… I kind of… feel responsible for it."

While her back slid on the rough texture of the tree trunk, she let herself fall into a sitting position to level with Gray. They held gazes for a while, and she smiled while shaking her head. "We're all at fault, I think?"

"How so?"

"Our reason is too embarrassing for you to know!" she yelled, which caused him to jump back in surprise. Claire hugged her knees as she buried her face in it. "Besides," she told him, "everything will be okay when she's ready."

"Ready to what?"

_Ready to confess to you, idiot._

"It's a secret."

He frowned at her, not liking the way she was smiling. Claire wondered if things were okay like this. If Mary _were_ to confess to Gray, what would happen to the three of them when he accepts? Or worse, what if he refuses?

Between her legs, she stared at the ground. Everything was all so messed up. She came to this town to escape from all the dramas of city life, only to find out that there was even _more_ drama in here. What the hell was she supposed to do?

"Geez," she heard him say. Nothing was unusual about it, but what surprised her was how he suddenly grabbed her legs and straightened them out, revealing her perplexed face. Gray was staring at her, and she felt herself blush with how long it had been, when he suddenly smiled and rested his head on her lap.

Claire scowled. "Did I tell you that it was okay to do that?" she asked, hiding the pleasant look plastered on her dirt-covered face.

"Not caring," he said, squirming a bit.

A sigh escaped her breath. He was going to be adamant about this, so it was useless to resist.

"This isn't like you," she told him.

She felt him shrug through her thighs. "I know, just… I feel fine if it's you."

Claire's eyes softened, though a tinge of sadness betrayed her face. He shouldn't feel this way. Besides, he was getting cocky, and Claire didn't like it if someone was cockier than her. At least, that's what she thought.

That's what she thought, but she still couldn't help but smile.

"So, how's your mining coming along? Do you still suck?" Her ears twitched.

"I'm good at it like how you're good at… handling people."

"Ah… then you suck."

"Which means you admit to my statement."

He grinned, and placed a fist on her thigh right next to his face. He dug his knuckles slowly but firmly and grinned even wider when he saw how she tried to contain her laughter.

"Ticklish, are we?"

She bit her lip. "N-no I'm not."

"Ah, then its fine if I do this?" He dug deeper, and wiggled his fist as wildly on her thigh as he could. Claire slapped her hands to her mouth.

She burst into laughter. "B-blockhead! S-stop it, damn you!"

Of course, it was a human rule to keep doing things when people tell them not to, so it was inevitable that they were going to break into a tickling spree. Gray had risen into a playful stance, with Claire having been cornered to a tree, with a seemingly fearful glare in her eyes.

It didn't take them long enough to be rolling on the dirt, laughing their asses off.

"G-Gray, I told you to s-stop!" she yelled in between fits, and his response was to continue tickling her under the armpits. "I mean it, moron! Stop!"

In his most taunting voice, he said, "make me."

Claire had been pushed to the ground, and the blacksmith roughly got on top of her, without stopping to give her a moment's rest from his… tickling attack. Her failed attempts to push him away just made him want to continue. Perhaps it was Gray's pride or perhaps it wasn't, but Claire clearly was useless when it came to this. It was one of her many weaknesses, after all.

It was just then that they realized how strange the two of them looked.

_Damn it, Claire! What had you gotten yourself into?_ People had the strange habit of walking into her farm at the worst timing, and if that were to happen now… with Gray on top of her like that… what would the townspeople think?

"I… I think that's enough, Gray," she told him, doing her best to avoid his eyes.

Except, he didn't budge.

"Hey, get off!"

Blue eyes gazed sternly at her, as if—not to sound corny—they were staring straight into her soul. He had that effect on her, she admitted, and when he was just staring at her like that, she couldn't help but do the same. Unlike before, she was unable to move, so she couldn't push him away. Claire noticed it, and she didn't like the fact that someone could be so dominant of her.

"Get off," she warned, but that only caused him to lean his face closer to hers. What the hell was he thinking? Gray was staring at her, and his face was getting bigger as it drew closer, until she could feel him breathe unto her cheeks. Their noses were touching, and for some stupid reason she hoped that he didn't think it was too sweaty or anything.

What the hell? Who cares if her nose was sweaty? He was to get off, now!

"Hey," his sudden voice caused her to stiffen up. "What would you do if…"

She didn't like what was happening.

"What if I… kissed you?"

Her mind went blank.

xXx

Kai grumbled while straightening out some dusty old books in the library. Normally, he would've liked the idea of him and a girl being isolated in a nice and quiet place, but not like this. He didn't want to spend his valuable time sorting out a bunch of thick paper in a musty old room like this. But life wasn't fair, despite being a lazy ass; he _was _a man of his word. Kai lost to Mary, so he had to do it. His pride was at stake. A sigh escaped his lips.

"Is something wrong?" asked Mary, who was scribbling something on her notebook, seemingly amused. She was probably laughing at the way he was mumbling like a sore loser. Of course, who knew Mary was an expert at poker? Kai certainly didn't.

_Something wrong, my foot. I hate doing chores like this._ He shook his head, and she laughed. That was certainly a first for him, hearing her laugh. Kai didn't hate it one bit. Now if only she would do it every now and then, he would have considered placing her in the list of her potential… women.

He shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong," he reassured her with a smile, and he could've sworn she turned away with a blush. Sticking the last stack of books into the shelf, he made confident steps towards the librarian. "How's your novel coming along?"

Mary looked at him, confused.

"You know, the one you were writing for _that person_," he told her.

With a frown, she turned her gaze from him towards her notebook. She stared intently, magnifying each and every word she used to match the way she was feeling. Kai pulled a chair in front of her and rested his elbows on the counter.

Surprisingly enough, she laughed humorlessly, followed by a sigh. "It's going well. I've had enough material from observation, it's just about finished and…" she fixed her glasses, "I think… I've realized something."

His eyes lit up, probably from his curious nature, and leaned in closer to urge her to continue. Kai noticed the tight way she gripped on her pen. "Realized what?"

"That maybe…" she began. Kai observed her carefully, not taking his eyes off of her for even a second, "maybe… I've been wrong all along."

Cheeks flushed with frustration, Mary looked down, hair dangling and hiding her face from Kai. He couldn't help but smile. He stroked her hair and played with a few strands of it, and spoke up before Mary was about to scold him for doing so.

"You know, I think you've just made it in my list."

She blinked. "List?"

xXx

_What if I… kissed you?_

"How's about you kiss your butt goodbye, instead?" Claire threatened, rather unconvincingly, seeing as she looked utterly helpless from being pinned to the ground by him. What was he going to do to her? It was like that bastard all over again!

Her constant spitting of insults and threats didn't seem to work on him, as he held a firm grip over her, not even budging an inch. "Gray, get off!"

"Answer my question first."

"You can't kiss me, Gray."

He smirked. "I didn't ask for your permission, simply 'What if I kissed you?'"

True, true… wait. Not true! This was no time to be dragged into his pace, Claire! This was an emergency, and an emergency required logic and a cool head.

Unfortunately, she didn't have either.

"What would you do, then?" he asked, and Claire blushed furiously. What would she do? She would faint, of course! Not like that would help. Gray looked like a wolf, and if she passed out, who knew what he'd do to her? Then again, there was that question…

What would she do if he kissed her? No, more like… how would she feel?

One thing was for sure: she wouldn't hate it. Maybe once or twice she daydreamed about it. In the mines, perhaps, or somewhere else, like Mother's Hill against the beautiful orange glow of the setting sun. Okay, fine. She thought about it a lot. A romantic, heart-warming first kiss on a romantic, heart-warming place. That was what she wanted, not this.

If ever, she hated being pinned down the most, to the point of loathing.

Being in this situation brought back too many painful memories, and now, she was helpless once again. Gray's piercing glare struck deep into her heart, and she wondered why he was so bent on stealing a kiss from her? If he had simply asked, then…

Then… what?

Claire wanted to scream, not because of the situation, but from the way she was contradicting herself in her thoughts. What was it that she wanted to do?

"Hey," he called, and his face went from blurred to downright crystal clear. Their noses were still touching. She could've sworn she saw impatience in his eyes. This day had been full of surprises, and another one was about to come.

He snorted.

She blinked.

Gray pulled away from her and laid beside Claire, wearing a grin so wide it reached his ears. Her blue eyes followed him, so they were facing each other.

Ever so slowly, he whispered right next to her ear. "Psyche."

Claire's eyes went from wide to plain huge, and blushed furiously when he burst into fits of mocking laughter. It was all a joke.

A joke.

It wasn't real.

Laughing, he told her, "It's payback for that little prank earlier."

But it wasn't a joke to her. Those were her true feelings, and he was just too dense to realize it. Was it a mistake to camouflage how she felt? Should she have just been honest and told him the truth? Well, tell him the truth like she meant it, at least.

She laughed.

"Good one, Gray. You… really had me going there. It was an award-winning performance. You should have been an actor. Why didn't you tell me you were a genius at acting?" She was blabbing, and she couldn't stop. "It was as if… as if everything was real. I seriously thought you were going to kiss me and everything. But that wouldn't happen, right?"

She shook her head, "right… why would you? Since you're obviously in love with Mary."

He suddenly sat up, wearing a surprised expression. "What?"

She sat up as well, and stared at him. "You heard me."

If he was laughing before, he certainly wasn't now. In fact, he seemed angry. "Why the _hell_ would you think of something stupid like that?"

Oh no, it was happening again. They were going to fight, and this would lead to throwing words they wouldn't mean. Fate must have enjoyed toying with their emotions so much.

"It's not stupid, jerk."

"It _is_ stupid! No, _you're_ stupid! People tell me I'm dense, but you're exactly the same, aren't you?" He yelled, noticing he did, and then looked away. "You're really getting on my nerves."

"Now hold on just a minute! Why are you talking to me like this? And what do you get from calling me stupid, stupid?"

If anything, Gray was the stupid one. How could he not notice how Mary felt about him? The years of liking him were probably painful for her, and the day he moved to Mineral Town might have been the day that shy librarian fell in love with the stoic blacksmith.

Why was he spouting words that would make her wish for something she shouldn't have?

Stupid, stupid Gray. Claire was tired of being a third wheel. Always, from the day she was born. Always the second choice. "You don't get how I feel at all."

"Then fucking tell me!"

She glared at him. "I fucking won't!"

"Argh!" he yelled once again, "you're really frustrating! Why did it have to be you, of all people?"

What was he babbling on about?

He seemed to notice her perplexed expression, causing him to glare even harder. "Don't you get it?"

He stepped forward.

She stepped back.

Gray's eyes were void of the humor he had before. It was the first time she felt scared around him. She nervously cleared her throat, but refused to stand down, so she wore the most convincing determined expression she could.

He sighed. "Never mind, it's not like you'd get it, anyway," and he walked out of her farm, leaving her no time to respond.

* * *

**XxStarZephunaSakuraxX: **I would love to, really... if only my schedule allowed it. O_O what is sleep?

**tufted titmouse: **LOL. I know right? She has absolutely bad timing for everything. Gray, too... but that's nothing new.

**Melissa43097: **Sorry about only updating now...

**Massu Chan: **Things are complicated and dramatic because they have an evil author writing their story for them. :D p.s. thank you so much!

**Cuppycakez: **Here it is! Hope you like it!

**.x: **awwwww... thanks so much for voicing out that wonderful opinion of yours, sweetie. Made my day. 3

**sitcom99: **A war, indeed. :3

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**rongirl98: **Oh my gosh, thank you! And I have to thank lollipopdiego for showing it to you. Such a sweetie-pie!

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**wipe-your-tears: **Oh my, I guess I'll try my best not to leave you with cliffies to avoid giving you "stomach attacks" then. XD Thank youuuu! 3

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** : **awwww... thank you for the support! You're all awesome!

**F8: **I'm sorry for only updating now! *pouts*

**Gintsukikyu: **Here's the next chapter, then. Thank you. *kisses*

* * *

I seriously love you guys. Thanks for putting up with me!


	18. Denials and Heartbreaks

**A/N: **Okay, so... just a little warning before you read. This has no Claire and Gray in it, but I like this chapter. Dunno why, though. I wanted to focus on the two of them, since... it had to be done. :D It just didn't feel right to leave things as they were. :D

Thank you all to those who have reviewed, added me to their fave authors, story alerts, etc. And to my silent readers, please break the silence. I love hearing your thoughts, and I assure you, I will reply to every single one. Even when this story is finished, I still will through private messages and such. I love you all so much.

**DISCLAIMER: **Harvest Moon owns ME, not the other way around. :p

* * *

"I don't get you sometimes, Claire," Ann wiped the rim of a glass carefully, too busy to make eye contact with the blonde lump of depression on the bar counter. The bartender rolled her eyes, tired of all the complaints she was hearing. "You get into a fight with Gray, and the first place you take refuge in would be where he lives? Smart, real smart."

Claire held another glass—which was empty—firmly in her hands, peeking through the rim to make a circular frame around Ann's busy face. "Give me a break. You know I can't go to the library, and Popuri is too busy attending to the monster chickens."

"Ah," Ann said, raising a brow, "I'm the third choice, it seems."

Claire shook her head furiously, "Wha—of course not! See that, there? Confusion, right in my face," she pointed to her features while she frowned, earning a laugh from Ann.

"I was kidding, Claire."

That caused the farmer to grin. "I knew I was stupid," she told her, "can't even tell when a friend is joking or not. Never mind Gray, though, he doesn't spend his valuable time in here that much, anyway."

Her friend nodded in agreement. "You have a point, but still… what are you going to do if he just waltzed right in here all of a sudden?"

What _would_ she do? Claire didn't know. Her heart would probably stop, and she would probably be unable to look him in the eye and throw the insults she usually would have given him. All she could give Ann was an uncertain shrug before she slid her arms on the counter, looking all depressed again.

Though Claire was unable to see, Ann scowled menacingly at her, pulling her orange braid in frustration. "Ugh—Claire! Get a grip! You're starting to annoy me!"

Startled, she abruptly raised her head, blue eyes blinking at the barmaid innocently before heaving a dispirited sigh. "I'm annoying you now? I get it… I'll go…" she reluctantly stood up, nodding at her friend and made her way outside of the inn.

Annoyed, Ann rolled her eyes, running after Claire and grabbing her wrist in an irritated attempt to stop her. "You know I didn't mean it like that. What's wrong with you, anyway?"

They stood by the door, Ann still having a firm hold on Claire's wrist. The latter shook her head slowly. "Don't act like you don't know."

Ann grew silent at first, trying to process her friend's words carefully, then her eyes beamed happily at her, a wide grin spread across her face. "Oh god, Claire! You realized!" Claire watched as Ann fanned herself with her hands exaggeratedly, faking an ecstatic cry. "This calls for a celebration! I had better get everybody together!"

Huh? "You act as if everyone already knows."

"Of course they do—everybody knew," she clasped Claire's hands into hers and waved it dramatically. "We were all just waiting for you guys to actually admit it to someone! Now, all that's left is Gray…" Ann trailed off.

"Hold up," Claire halted, frowning, "Gray? There's no way in hel—"

"Shush, Claire. You're dense. You wouldn't know," Ann interjected rather frankly, causing Claire to twist her face from a frown into a scowl, "he's totally into you, and I'm saying that you should confess now, and forever hold your peace."

Claire narrowed her eyes. "Are you crazy? What about Mary?"

Ann shrugged. "All's fair in love and war, sweetie."

xXx

On the way back to her farm, Claire took her time walking towards home, pressing frustrated fingers against her forehead, trying to—unsuccessfully—ease the headache that was coming. She shook her head, wondering what she should do now. Of all things to suggest, she was told to confess to Gray. But why?

What good will come of that?

_Blonde hair had danced gracefully with the salty breeze, eyes as blue and as deep as the ocean gazed into the disappearing horizon. Claire had stood silently aboard the ship, swaying slowly as the waves cradled them gently towards the sea._

"_Travelling alone?" A voice from behind had caused her usually relaxed shoulders to tense. An abrupt glance over her shoulder, and she found herself staring at a man, looking like he was in his late forties, take his place beside her, joining her in gazing at the sea._

_A stranger was talking to her while on her cruise, but she didn't actually care anymore. "Yes. I just want to… forget everything else."_

_To forget about him._

_She had heard him chuckle softly as he leaned against the frame of the deck, folding his arms, without even attempting to hide the curiosity that seemed to emanate from him the moment she uttered those words._

"_Strangers are we, our paths unlikely to cross once again. I suggest you pour out your worries now," he'd told her. His voice was solemn and kind, almost like the father she never had, "no harm will come of it, really. What will I gain from spreading a foreign tale of some stranger I encountered on the sea?"_

_Claire had not seen the point in talking to this, rather poetic, man. In fact, she hadn't seen the point in talking, at all. However, she _did_ see the logic in his statement, and it was true that no harm would come from telling him what was wrong. A bitter laugh jumped from her throat, knowing the fact that she was rationalizing her motive. She just wanted to talk to someone, and her pride was too swollen to admit it._

"_I got cheated on. Happy?" she'd frowned at him, and the older man gave an amused laugh. "It's not funny. He said that… I was the mistress… that he was cheating on my sister with me." The man nodded attentively, and she continued. "I don't know anymore… I… I decided to give up, just… be single, you know? Live life freely, without the pressures of a relationship."_

"_Hmm," the man smiled, "would that be best, I wonder…?"_

_Claire frowned at him, "well, what do you suggest, then?"_

_A small smile had found its way into his lips, he turned to her, revealing what Claire would think was a face full of understanding. Blue eyes stared into his gray ones, roaming around his features, wondering where his confidence was coming from. He seemed like he was the real deal. "A heart that is wounded by love can only be mended by love. Seek someone new, in other words."_

_She scoffed, "I don't want anything to do with men at the moment," her ears flickered at the sound of a splash. Claire glanced forward, revealing a few dolphins fluttering about far into the horizon. Her expression remained unfazed. Temporary silence lingered in the air before she bit her lip and parted them to speak. "I don't want—"_

"—_to be a third wheel," he nodded, finishing for her. "I understand. You were traumatized by the incident so much that you developed a fear for anything that resembles that situation," he shook his head, "but one day, when love comes, I strongly advise you not to drive it away."_

_For an old man, he had been pretty cocky. Although she supposed that she didn't have a right to object, seeing as she was clearly inexperienced in that particular field. Nevertheless, what did he know? He wasn't the one mending a broken heart. He wasn't the one trying to pick up pieces of himself. He wasn't pathetic, unlike her. "Huh, you want me to accept love as it comes?"_

_He nodded._

"_What good will come of that?"_

_The man smiled with such dignity that Claire was almost overwhelmed. He stood straight while keeping his firm gaze trained on her. "I assure you, it will be truly rewarding."_

Claire hadn't noticed that she was already nearing her farm. Why did she have to recall that time, anyway? That man was creepy and weird… period. There was no point in remembering his words, so why now, of all times?

"…_but one day, when love comes, I strongly advise you not to drive it away."_

She shook her head and looked down. "I can't…"

How can a girl not turn away from romance after that? Falling in love, having had her heart broken, almost harassed and had been told a third wheel by her sister who was her supposed boyfriend's _real_ girlfriend—those weren't exactly things girls dreamt about as their "happily ever afters."

_Ugh. This is complicated._ Claire walked into her farm dejectedly, and was about to roll her sleeves up to get to work but was greeted by Flea, who was yipping happily down at her feet. Leaning down to reach for it, she ruffled its fur. "I'm jealous," she stated bitterly, "You're so carefree. Makes me wish I could turn into a dog and live life just barking away."

The puppy yipped, licking her hand before tumbling over its back. A sigh.

"I don't think this farm would fare well with a dog as its owner," Claire turned around, and widened her eyes upon realizing who her visitor was. She stood up, fixed her hair and coughed nervously, staring at the young woman with hair as black as ebony, her fingers pressed to the frame of her round glasses, eyes hidden by the light reflecting its frame.

"M-Mary? What are you doing here? You _never_ visit my farm," she asked her, managing a smile.

The librarian opened her mouth slightly, but chose to clamp it shut. It seemed like she was holding something in her hands, but Claire felt compelled to not question her about it. "I figured it was about time I came to you, instead. After all, you were always visiting me at the library."

"You don't have to, really," she shook her head, "I wanted to go to the library." _I wanted to go to you._

Mary replied not with words, but with a blatant shaking of her head. She glanced around the farm, earning a nervous cough from Claire. She pointed to her little house. "Is it okay if I come in?"

With an exaggerated smile, Claire guided her from the door towards her couch. "O-oh! Of course!" she turned the knob, "by all means, come in."

She wondered what possessed Mary to visit her farm. It wasn't even a Monday, so who was looking after the library? Not that _that_ was an actual problem, since the only ones who actually went to the library was Gray, the doctor and herself. She beckoned for Mary to sit on the couch before offering her something to drink, to which she politely refused. Confused as to what to do, she took a seat beside her, trying her best not to meet her eyes.

"Um," Claire began, "what can I do for you?"

Letting out a sigh, Mary rested a thin package on her lap. It was wrapped tightly in a blue cloth, a black ribbon holding it together. Receiving a stern look from the librarian, Claire squirmed awkwardly in her seat, shoulders stiffening and lips squeezing together with unease. "I'd like you to have this," she heard Mary say, and as if on reflex she leaned forward to study the object held in front of her.

"…what is it?" she asked, stroking the soft wrapping, trying to identify the gift. Mary nodded, and Claire took that as a signal that it was okay to open it. Carefully, she took off the covering, and inside was a book, purely white, its design consisting nothing but the title 'Denial,' in bold, black letters. Claire looked up and saw Mary, a sad smile on her face.

"It's a book…" _No duh._

"…and it's dedicated to you, Claire."

_Oh. _She blinked, obviously confused. "Huh?"

Mary stood up and nodded. "I should take my leave. It would mean very much to me if you read it," she told her, and motioned for the door. Claire reluctantly opened it for her, not sure whether it was alright to just leave things as they were.

Of course, the only thing she could do was nod.

With a smile, Mary quietly left the house after giving her thanks.

Claire dropped to her bed with the book in her hand and sighed. _Denial, huh?_ It was too perfect a word for her. She sat nervously, ruffling the soft covers as she squirmed about. Cradling the book gently in her hands, she traced the bold embossed letters on the front cover. She sighed and opened it to begin.

_Under the radiant light of the sun, a young woman with hair of the same hue stood gallantly on the silent beach of Mineral Town—a quaint, little town surrounded by mountains and the ocean. She was a cheerful girl, one filled with spunk and rough emotions, her outward appearance as tough as the inner—no weak spots—just a plain, brave, and dignified soul. At first glance, one would see her as fragile and weak, what with her small frame and soft facial features, a woman every man would want to protect. But she was a female beyond any other. Her tongue sharper than a knife, glare as piercing as a spear, will as tough as the strongest steel._

_Little did the townspeople know that this particular woman would become a significant part of their lives. Specifically, the shy librarian at the north, and the stoic blacksmith at the south._

"Huh," she huffed, "I guess the characters are pretty much obvious by now. Is she going to give the heroine a slow and painful death in the end?" With a shudder, her brows knitted into a frown as she continued.

The book droned on about the woman's life at the town, how she affected the lives of the people in it and how she threw others' lives into paradise and turmoil. Claire bit her lip, her nails digging into the material of the cover. Surprisingly, she had managed to keep herself from tearing her eyes away from the book, until…

_Eventually, the shy librarian had come to hate the radiant girl before her eyes, much to the townspeople's confusion. They didn't understand—nobody did—to have something you struggled to keep all your life be taken away so easily by a stranger who had just arrived. She was just a girl who had moved in, with no particular goal in life. Why then, had everyone's hearts been so readily given to her? What was her secret? What was so good about her?_

_Her fingers traced the frame of her glasses, taking them off and pressing them softly onto her temples. She was becoming selfish. It was a trait she despised, and it was what she was becoming. Could one imagine the feeling of becoming something one hates?_

_Despite the fact that these feelings were dormant inside of her, the timid librarian was considered a friend by the radiant woman. No ill words about her escaped the blonde's lips, and from this, her lips quivered in shame._

_There was never anything wrong with her._

"_It's me," she mumbled to herself, "I am the problem."_

_Knowing this, she grew scared, eventually closing herself in and avoiding everybody she had considered her friends. That woman, she came, made her realize how much of a worthless person she was, and stole the love of her life without even realizing it._

_Woe had definitely become her._

Claire's heart dropped to her stomach. Sapphire eyes squeezing shut to drown out the words she had absorbed. Her cheeks felt hot with tears, and she rarely cried. Had she really ruined Mary's life this much? Her mere presence had caused her so much pain and suffering. Just by _being _there, she was hurt. The room echoed silence and soft sniffles as she willed herself to keep reading. Claire owed Mary this much.

"_I will never be a third wheel," she heard the woman utter softly, head downcast and eyes unseen from the shadows of her face. Hands clenched tightly around her silk dress, neon lights changing the hues in a constant manner._

_Third wheel. Yes, that was what the woman was, right?_

_It fit her description—a third wheel—perfectly. It was so accurate, so why… why did the shy woman feel as if the words had described her, instead?_

_Soft painful steps made their way out of the square. It was all she could hear, despite the loud noise in the background, every sound that girl made that night was all she could hear._

_No, the librarian didn't do anything wrong._

_It was her. The fault was hers when she had danced with someone who wasn't her partner, when her partner gave her a smile so easily, when she… she had to work her head off just to get a small tugging at the corner of his lips. The fault was the blonde's when she knew of the feelings the librarian harbored towards the boy, yet she dared not push him away and yell at him to come back to her._

_Then again, she wasn't any different._

_Feelings were felt, and she wasn't dense like the two. Her intelligence was beyond average, and she could identify the sparks that flew in them whenever their eyes met. Those sparks, she could never get out of him, and she did, with absolutely no effort at all._

_One thing was for sure. That woman wasn't the third wheel._

Tears were flying. They were travelling through the air due to the violent shaking of her head. Claire was desperate now. "No," she pleaded, "that's not true."

Books or what-not, they were just words. Claire wanted to punch something—anything—just focus on the pain and nothing else, but she was scared. Mary's words held so much feeling in them that she felt like as if she were experiencing them first hand. Her fingers curled around the pages, flipping them and scanning the words through. A bitter laugh.

"She's… a great writer," she said. Nothing else.

_Over time, things grew awkward between the three. The already distant blacksmith widening the gap between the librarian, and the opposite was happening between him and the radiant woman. No matter, she still had her books. Her sanctuary would never leave her._

_Plip._

_Oh._

_What is this?_

_She smiled, staring at the drop of… water on the page of her book. She watched it grew dark as the paper absorbed it, slowly dissolving into the material, like her feelings. Her vision became a blur, and soon after she was weeping quietly in the library, for she knew more than anyone else, that no noise was allowed inside._

_How stupid had she been?_

_She had no right to interfere between two people so meant for each other more than anything else. Realization sure was a hard-hitter, as it threw her back to the wall with about as much pain as she could handle. There was only one thing to do._

_Fix things._

Claire's eyes widened.

"_I have been a fool," she said to herself, "she had been nothing but a friend to me, and I pushed her away. Now, there's nothing I desire more than for her to be happy." The librarian scribbled on a piece of paper, a smile spread across her sullen face._

The book ended with two sentences at the last page.

"_Every day, before the strike of dawn, I will be waiting atop the mountain hills, with my shame and guilt brought along with me. There is so much I want to say, and I shan't blame you for not wanting to come."_

By the time she had finished the book, it was hours past midnight, and dawn was fast approaching. In a panic, she jumped from her bed and into her shoes, not bothering to check her face and hair before darting towards the door.

With a tear-stricken smile, she thought to herself.

_Finally._

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**A/N: **So... this chappie was a bit of a stray from my usual casual humor, huh? I hope you guys don't mind. A bit of seriousness isn't all that bad, isn't it? OTL

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**ZammyNox: **SMILEY FACE. Lol, I'm sorry, and sorry for this chapter, too. OTL Thank you very much for reviewing! 3333

**Zeldagirl111: **Oh my goodness thank you! I don't mind at all! I don't think you are being pushy, and I love it when people look forward to my stories. Please keep reviewing! Thank you so much!

**Naty17: **I had better check out your story, then! I love slow stories, if you hadn't noticed already!Evil twist. Evil author. I am flattered. LOL. Thanks for this review. :D 3

**HMhannah: **[reaches out dramatically] NoooooooO! LOL. thank you so much! Here is the update, I hope you'll keep reading this story. 3

**lollipopdiego: **[is glomped] LOL, thanks so much for saying that! 3 And yes, I agree. When you love someone you just seem so out of it that you tend to do things that are weird when done to others, but with him it just feels so... right? I dunno. :D Thank you for noticing Gray's reverse psychology, too! And I don't think there's a reason to be scared of Kai's list. :D You'll probably like what it means in the future. :D

Sorry about forgetting the line breaker. OTL I am just so dumb sometimes! OTL again. CLAIRE WANTS YOU FOR A BEST FRIEND, TOO.

**Massu Chan:** I don't mind your ramblings. In fact, I love them! please keep doing so in the future! [sends my love] And lol, they are pretty stubborn. LOL AGAIN, because I love the idea that the ores are weaker than them, seeing as they could be crushed and they can not. :D I love you! Thank you for staying with me up to now! 3

**Nocturnal Panda: **You may still be on chapter 9, but I'm reviewing anyway. :D Yes, I think Gray is a bit jealous. (it's okay, I sometimes forget, too :D) Thank you so much for this review, for taking the time to type it all down. :D

**xXx Tinkies xXx: **OMG thaaaaanks! I'm glad you think so! You take care, too! 3

**i love zim and anime: **The evil author thinks you are awesome, too. Thank you! 3 [I love zim and anime, too. :D]

**SunnyElla16: **EEEE! Thank you for saying so! I suppose I should start writing a Chelsea and Vaughn fic, too. Maybe I will after this story. :D It is nearing the end. :D Here, sorry for keeping you waiting. :D

**F8: **Why wouldn't I reply? I love all of your reviews and I want people to know I appreciate them so much! Don't worry, I'm not overworking myself THAT much. LOL. Thanks for your concern, and thanks for this review! XOXO.

**rrin: **drama drama drama. :D Thank you so much! 3

**tufted titmouse: **Thank you for noticing Gray's reverse psychology, too! :D [you missed an 's'] I love you! This review-I love it, too! XOXOXO


	19. Closure

**A/N**: Okay, so before you guys kill me, let me explain. I'm on my fourth year in college, and the stress is unbearable. Add that to my writer's block, and bam! K.O. I suck so bad. I'm just... going to give up on trying to redeem myself. T_T Here. No Claire and Gray, though. But updates will be faster from now on.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harvest Moon. Obviously.

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She turned, fumbled—scampered—towards the mountain peak. It was the fastest her feet could carry her, and the blonde cursed her own lack of endurance, especially since she should have had enough from being a farmer.

Mary was finally willing to talk to her, and she's definitely not going to let this opportunity pass. At this point she'd agree to anything just to regain her friendship, even if it meant letting go of Gray.

It took her fifteen minutes to reach the peak even when running, but it took her only a few seconds to recognize the familiar, flowing hair of ebony hue. Mary's small frame was lit by a light indigo, probably because it was a little past dawn. She bit her lip.

_No need to get nervous. It's just Mary._

Sapphire hues widened when the other girl turned around. She was wearing an expression that Claire couldn't quite make out.

Mary offered a smile. "Claire, I—"

"—Wait!"

The fact that the librarian blinked several times out of surprise was expected, since Claire had inexplicably clutched her chest tightly with both hands, as if she was on the verge of a heart attack. Blonde hair covered half of her face, as well as the beads of sweat trickling down her cheek.

"My heart isn't ready!" She exclaimed, the grip on her chest tightening. "Give me a sec—just a sec to prepare myself, okay?"

The air was immediately filled with awkward silence, and then a cough, followed by fits of laughter. "C-Claire, you…! I can't… you're too silly! I can't stay mad at you at all!"

She frowned, blushing. "You wanted to stay mad at me?"

"To be honest, yes, but I'm fully aware that I can't. Not after what I wrote in that book."

"Hey, if you're still mad, it's cool. I'll just stay at home, twiddle my thumbs or feed the chickens or something."

"Oh, Claire, you know I didn't mean it like that."

Claire folded her arms, taking her place beside Mary. "Then what _did_ you mean?"

A sudden breeze pushes them slightly back, but both welcomed the chill of the early morning wind. Mary fell silent for a moment, searching for the right words. "I've been doing a bit of… reflecting."

_Reflecting? Must be about this little triangle._ Claire sighed, casting her gaze upwards.

"Hey," the sudden seriousness in her tone caused Claire to look at Mary again, though. "Do you really like Gray."

"Yeah, definitely" was what she'd like to say, but instead chose to clamp her mouth shut and let the librarian continue, which wasn't a good idea, for Mary spouted words that were hard to believe.

"I think he likes you."

"That's what everybody says." She watched Mary play with a small rock using her right index finger. "I think you're all mistaken, though."

Mary met her sapphire hues. "Do you really think that?"

That was the question, wasn't it? It might have been eating away at the back of her mind, how Gray always seemed to have time for her, how he was always ready to lend a helping hand, and how those very same hands were able to create a beautiful necklace out of something as raw as a sapphire rock. Did she really think he felt nothing for her?

Surely he wouldn't bother arguing with her almost every day if he didn't feel at least _something._

"I'm sorry." It was all she could do to not break down.

Mary, who apparently was smiling, shook her head and rested a hand on the blonde's shoulder. Claire wasn't quite certain if she was being forgiven or comforted or both. Or maybe Mary was just trying that little melee stunt where one could kill a person by pinching somewhere around the collar bone. Hopefully it wasn't the latter.

"What are you apologizing for," asked Mary, who wore a slightly pained expression. Claire could only guess that the librarian's next words were very hard for her to accept. "He… couldn't help it, and the same goes for you. None of us can control how we feel. It just so happened that the one who could cause a stir in Gray's heart wasn't… me."

"But," Claire insisted, "You've liked him for years."

"Just because you've liked someone for a long time, doesn't mean that you've been bound to that person until you die," Mary countered. "No amount of years of my loving him has anything to do with what he feels about you. I can't control him, Claire, and it was wrong of me to try and control you because of that."

"But—"

"Look, Claire. I'm giving you the okay. Isn't that enough?"

The blonde stood up suddenly, frowning. "It's not enough! You're asking me to selfishly pursue my own happiness while you're sitting here feeling miserable?"

"I never said I was feeling miserable."

Huh?

"I was able to write that book—the one dedicated to you—because I've come to terms with everything. Your friendship is too precious for me to sever just because of a boy. Boyfriends come and go, but friends are forever."

That was it. The finishing blow. A critical hit. Only after hearing those words come out of Mary's mouth did Claire realize that she was waiting for her to say that after all. That she'd wanted to be friends again. The blonde released a heavy sigh, then fell to her knees. She was crying. Not the beautiful kind, either. She was sobbing hysterically, snot oozing out of her nose, various disgruntled sounds escaping her diaphragm. She looked so pitiful that Mary would have had no choice but to wrap her in a tight embrace to calm her down.

"I… I-I can't believe this is ha…happening," she said in between hiccups. "I can't believe you. That's… that's foul play! I've never even cried this hard because of Gray before!"

Claire heard her friend chuckle, feeling her squirm around in search of something in her clothes. The farmer pulled away out of curiosity, realizing that Mary had gotten her handkerchief and was now wiping Claire's tears and snot from her face. Right then and there she wondered why Mary was still friends with her. Claire was downright embarrassing to be with.

"Hard to believe that this is the same spunky Claire that so readily threw my books at the scary blacksmith right down the block."

"_Apprentice _blacksmith," she corrected.

Both laughed.

After a while, the two talked about other things, about the farm, the library, about how annoying Kai was, and about Gray. It was the first civil conversation they've had in a long while. By the time they stopped, it wasn't because both had run out of things to talk about, but of the time. They hadn't realized that it was past noon already. Mary opted to go, not refusing Claire's offer to accompany her on the way home.

Near Gotz's cabin, Mary spoke.

"I'm sorry, Claire."

She scoffed. "For what?"

"For putting you through all that."

"No big deal. I'm just glad I get a free pass to the library again."

It felt nice, being friends again. Now both of them could go back to the earlier days, where they could start over again—no, now their relationship was stronger than ever. Unbreakable even by someone who could break the sturdiest of rocks with a hammer. Claire did her best not to cry again.

"What are you going to do now?"

"About Gray?"

Mary nodded.

Claire shrugged. "Dunno. We're kind of in a don't-speak-to-me-or-I-kill-you streak right now."

"You're in a fight? Why?"

The farmer hesitated for a minute, but decided not to keep anymore secrets from her about Gray. "I told him that he was in love with you."

The shock in her friend's eyes was obvious. "You _what_? Oh dear. Why on earth did you say that?"

"Well, I… didn't want to rouse the fire, you know?"

"So you were trying to set us up?"

This time, it was Claire who nodded, and Mary sighed.

"Gray doesn't like being told what to do, or how to feel. He doesn't like it when people get the wrong idea, especially not by _you_."

"Give me a break. I was trying not to fall in love with him, okay?"

"As if _that_ will work. Gray's too charming to not fall in love with."

True.

Mary appeared to be deep in thought, and when the blonde asked her if something was the matter, the librarian only shook her head and waved goodbye. Claire hadn't realized that they've already reached the farm, so her goodbyes were blurted and incomplete. Soon after, she was once again surrounded by silence, left contemplating the events that had happened earlier. It still felt like a dream.

With no clue as to what to do next, she decided to start on her farmer routine, and think about Gray.

And what the future had in store for the two of them.

xXx

Kai was whistling a tune, expert hands dancing, creating various dishes that would blow his customers' minds away. That is, if he had any customers to actually blow the minds of.

To be honest, unless Claire took the day off or if Gray didn't have anything better to do, his shop was as good as empty. Those two were the only ones who cared enough to visit his shop anyway.

Ah.

And Popuri. Of course.

It was clear that Popuri had the hots for him—everybody in town could see that, but in all honesty, she wasn't his type. She was nice and all, but seemed far too easy for him to woo. He liked a challenge. Like Claire. And Karen. And Mary.

And the latter walked into his door and he took that as his cue to drop the ladle into the boiling hot stove. His initial reaction was to let out a sharp cry of pain before frantically waving his wrist in anguish.

Out of embarrassment, he blushed, but quickly regained his composure by replacing his frazzled expression with a smug grin. "Hey. Finally decided to pay me a visit, huh? Could it be that you're falling for—"

"That must hurt. Let me take a look."

His shoulders slumped forward, dejectedly. _Way to brush me off, Mary._

She dragged him by the hand towards the sink, dousing his fingers repeatedly in the water. Mary didn't seem to care that he was wincing in pain, but eventually relief spread across his face. Maybe she'd read all about burns in another one of her books. Either way he wasn't complaining.

"So," he began, watching as the girl wiped his hand dry with a towel. "What gives?"

Mary stopped, gaze locked on to his fingers, her own fiddling with his dark flesh. He could have sworn he saw her bite her lower lip, and it wasn't an attempt to seduce him.

She was holding back the tears.

"Whoa! H-Hey, what's wrong?"

"I did the right thing, that's what's wrong."

_Aha. I see now. Probably about Claire,_ he thought. And he was right. Soon enough, Mary parted her lips and the first word that rolled off her tongue was the farmer's name. She mumbled something about deciding to let the blonde do what she wanted through watery eyes. Mary was really doing her best not to cry.

"Gray is… most likely on his way to her farm even as we speak."

That bit of information piqued his interest. "Why's that?"

"Because I told him to." _This_ bit of information piqued his interested even further. "It took several tries to get him to admit it, but yes. He likes her. Quite a lot, as well."

He couldn't help but pull her into a hug.

It wasn't exactly his character to do so. He was used to playful, fleeting kisses and daring touches, constant straddling and suggestive poses, but not… something as innocent as this—a mere embrace, where the intentions were solely for comforting, and not for pointless lip-lock. The girl in his arms wasn't like that at all. He had to respect her, and respect he would.

"That big lump of coal has no idea what he's missing," said Kai, who was stroking her hair with a contented look on his face. "I've got the prettiest, smartest girl in my arms. He should be jealous."

"Claire's amazing, too." She admitted, but a smile made its way into her lips, anyway.

"She is. But both of you are waaay different from each other. Claire's cute, but you're _beautiful._"

She blushed. He understood why she did, but what confused him the most was that _he_ blushed, as well.

"I… I mean. I just"—he sighed—"Oh man…"

A giggle escaped her breath. "What's on the menu?" She asked.

Thankful for a change of topic, he whisked an overly-decorated folder and waved it dramatically in front of her, meeting her rolling eyes. "These little babies are perfect for a hot day like today."

"Whip me up a little bit of everything, then."

He laughed, and then tied a pink apron to his waist.

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**A/N**: It's a (sort of) happy chapter, ain't it? I certainly hope so, after all this drama. I promise not to be to complicated in the future. Bear with me guys.

**SunnyElla16, Konri Kari, AmeliaLeon, xXx Tinkies xXx, FlamingIceWolfGirl, snowdrop03, rin, Saikono-san**: Hey, y'all. Thanks very much! I'm really sorry that I only updated today, and I'll do my best so I can do so faster in the future. XD

**probieprincess**: Lmao. Oh dear, I'm sorry if I don't know what NCIS is, exactly, but it sounds interesting. Haha, I should check it out sometime.

**ZammyNox**: SAD FACE AGAIN. Ahahaha. 3

**XxCandiigrlszxX**: Well, here's the talk-at-dawn moment. It's not much, but I hope it got my point across. I didn't want this to be one of those spiteful love-triangles and stuff. ;A;

**HMhannah**: Wah, I'm flattered. I'm not fantastic-just mediocre, but thanks for saying so.

**Massu Chan**: Hehe, it wasn't as dramatic as one would expect it to be, but they finally have closure, I suppose. All that's left is Claire and Gray. I'm not putting up with your ramblings at all. I love them! Thank you so much. ;A;

**tufted titmouse**: OTL is an emoticon. It's a person on his knees, with his head down. Usually used when you want people to show you're dramatically sad. Lmao. XD

**Naty17**: FEEL GUILTY! I feast on your feelings of guilt! -just kidding. Haha. Thank you very much for this review. 3

**F8**: Lmao. Mary's about to find her prince charming, I think? I saw your reviews to my other stories, by the way. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who likes Harvest Moon and Final Fantasy together.

**Lollipopdiego**: Don't feel terrible! You have nothing to apologize for. Review only when you feel like it, so no pressure. Haha. -hugs- There, there. No one deserves to feel like a third wheel. -and Kai's list. Pfft. You're close, but not quite! Haha! Hilarious thought, though! -accepts cookie graciously- The explanation for OTL is up there. Hehe.

**The Yoshinator**: I _will_ continue! XD Thank you very much for saying so! 3

**Ancient Liddel**: EEEEKKKKKK! Oh! Um, okay! Here it is! I'll try to update faster! Lmao. Thank you!

Guys. Thank you all for the reviews. I really appreciate it. 3


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